N EIL Lennon remains comfortably ensconced as the manager of Celtic, 49 days after the afternoon which initially looked as though it could sink him.

When the half-time score from Rugby Park stood at a numbing Kilmarnock 3, Celtic 0, it looked like one of those seismic days which might bring down an Old Firm manager.

There was no hope for Tony Mowbray when Celtic lost 4-0 at St Mirren in 2010 and Lennon could have been similarly done for in Ayrshire. And he knew it. "You ask yourself questions. When you are 3-0 down at Kilmarnock you think 'do you hand your resignation in after the game if it goes to 4 or 5?' It would have been totally unacceptable for someone like myself, even though I've never been under any pressure from 'upstairs'.

"I didn't think we were in such a bad position [overall] that the sack was looming. But if results had continued and the gap had got a lot bigger in the league, so that we couldn't see ahead of ourselves, then I could understand it. But the one thing I didn't do was hit the panic button. I thought there was plenty of time and we just needed to get some consistency in and claw our way back into it."

At Rugby Park that day he had started to worry. Was the unfolding horror a reflection of a lack of managerial ability? Self-doubt rushed in on him but the mood changed as Celtic pulled back a goal, and then another, and eventually an equaliser. Emerging with a point and a 3-3 draw amounted to taking a step back from the precipice.

Time will tell if it was a true turning point in Lennon's managerial career but right now he is looking much more secure and his team once again looks as though it is responding to him. They were unbeaten for 10 games before losing narrowly to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.

Lennon remains an Old Firm manager who has yet to win the league title, and his shelf life will be dramatically shortened until he rectifies that. But 21 months in charge of Celtic – as caretaker and then permanent manager – have convinced him that it is a job he has the substance to handle. "I have learned that I can do it," he said. "I can take the pressure and not panic. I know that even if things are going well you don't get too high, you just concentrate on the job.

"I have enjoyed the high-pressure games. I have enjoyed that side of it and enjoyed testing myself. I've enjoyed the European games too. I think I've developed. I got a few things wrong along the way and I'm not saying I won't make mistakes as we go along, but I am pretty pleased with how we are going."

The idea of a composed, thoughtful Lennon is at odds with the common public perception of an impulsive, emotional, even angry character. That does not particularly trouble the man himself because he knows he has much more to offer than that. "Listen I wouldn't have got the job if I was just a rabble-rouser who shouted at people in the dressing room and put Irish music on . . ."

Last month Celtic sliced Rangers' lead in the championship from 12 points down to four after four consecutive league victories. The gap will return to seven if the champions win at home against Dunfermline Athletic this afternoon before Celtic then face an awkward fixture away to Dundee United tomorrow. United have lost only one of their last five league games.

Having clawed back a big deficit already, Celtic will be calm about falling seven points behind if it happens again today. "I think they are a wee bit more relaxed because they are seeing signs of consistency in the performances," said Lennon. "I think the fans were pretty pleased with the performance against Atletico because there were good signs. It's a long season. I remember being seven ahead of Rangers in January in Gordon's [Strachan] last year here and Rangers won it on the last day of the season. It is far too early to be talking about clear winners and losers."

Having exonerated Biram Kayal from blame for ducking out of the way of Atletico Madrid's winning goal on Wednesday night, Lennon also absolved the Israeli midfielder for his public boast that Celtic were better than Rangers. The remarks had not been meant to be disrespectful, he said. "I don't think he meant it to come across that way. He believes we have a good team and good players, but we need to prove it on the pitch.

"It's possible it could go to the wire again this season. I didn't envisage that we would have three defeats in the league by now but then I didn't envisage Rangers having three home draws. All I am concerned with at the minute is keeping the winning run going up until we play Rangers here."

Scott Brown and Victor Wanyama will be available for the Tannadice match but Joe Ledley is out and Emilio Izaguirre, Kris Commons, Mark Wilson, Cha Du Ri and Thomas Rogne remain unavailable.

Lennon said he would have talks with Daniel Majstorovic next month to determine whether the 34-year-old will be given a new contract for next season. "I haven't sat down with him yet," said the Celtic manager. "He has a big season and a European Championship to play for and he has to maintain the level of form he has shown in the past month. He has a big six months coming up.

"I will talk to him in January and see what he wants to do, but he is quite relaxed about the situation. I am not saying there is no contract for him. We'll sit down in January and see where it takes us."