NEIL Lennon last night insisted he doesn’t care what Rangers do and that he took no real notice of the Ibrox club spending £7million on Ryan Kent.

The Celtic manager understood why his rivals spent a surprising amount of money on a deal which seemed dead and admitted he would have done the same thing had he been in Steven Gerrard’s shoes.

Celtic added Southampton’s £16m winger Mohamed Elyounoussi on a season-long loan, Greg Taylor for over £2m, Manchester City teenager Jeremie Frimpong on a four-year deal and also signed the highly-rated Manchester United defender Lee O’Connor.

And this business over the last few days of the transfer window, plus the win at Ibrox, is why Lennon is ignoring anything which happens on the other side of the city

Lennon said: “We have no interest in what Rangers are doing. Well I certainly don’t and especially off the back of a great performance and a great win.

"All it is is three points and a big psychological lift for everyone associated with the clubs. Four games in it’s been a very good start but that’s all it is.

“I can’t control what other teams do. Who they bring in or what they spend. But we control what we do and I’m pretty happy with the end results.

Asked if he was tempted to go for Kent himself, which was rumoured, Lennon retorted: “No. Why would I? I have Mikey Johnston, I have James Forrest I have Marian Shved, I’ve got Elyounoussi, Scott Sinclair and Johnny Hayes. I’ve got Morgan. So, we’re covered in that area.”

Lennon has been aware of criticism of his managerial talents coming from the Celtic support, especially after the club’s exit from the Champions League.

However, yesterday the Northern Irishman was named the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership’s first manager of the month for this season after four wins out of four in the league.

Lennon said: “You know if you’re getting heavily criticised then it can change very quickly. Or if you’re being treated as God’s gift that can also change quickly. So, it’s just important you keep a perspective on everything, which is what we try to do.

“Now we’ve seen a really strong end to the week and month which puts us on a really good footing for the rest of the season which we’re looking forward to.

Asked if he was underrated as a manager, Lennon said: “Possibly. But I can’t control that. I don’t think I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread. I think I’m alright. I know how to win games and get results.

“And there aren’t many people who get the opportunity to manage a club like this for a second time. So, that makes me very proud, and it’s a privilege – and it makes me very driven as well.”

“I think it’s a sign of the times and again you can’t control that. So, I’m not aware of it (criticism).

“You know it might be out there. But again you just blank it out. You think ‘Yes, it didn’t go well, where did it go wrong, let’s see if we can improve on that, let’s see if we can get the new boys up to speed as quickly as we can and make the best of the rest.’

“And we’ve done that so far.”

Lennon revealed that Nir Bitton will miss a month after being injured at Ibrox. However, Tom Rogic and Kristoffer Ajer should be ready for next weekend's game at Hamilton.