FERGUS McCANN will be the man who in August unfurls the league flag won by Celtic this week.

The last time he performed this ceremony, the businessman who saved the club from going bust 20 years ago was jeered by large sections of the support.

His prudence during his five years at the helm, when Rangers were spending without any heed for the future, was not universally appreciated by the Hoops fans.

However, the wisdom of McCann's insistence on living within your means is now clear for all to see.

And Neil Lennon is delighted that the rewards of that continue to be enjoyed with yet another championship.

He said of McCann's takeover: "You wonder what state the club would have been in, or if we would have had a club at all.

"The fruits of his labour are there to be admired now, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for people like Fergus who had the vision to take the club forward again.

"At the time, some may have questioned his methods. But, in the long run, he was deemed to have been proved right."

McCann's legacy is the prudence which remains at the core of the club's business plans to this day.

"I am sure he'll get a great welcome when he comes back," said Lennon.

"He delivered what he said he would do. Like everything else, there is probably a little pain along the way.

"But we now have a fantastic stadium, and a fantastic club, and we are in a very stable condition.

"It's a difficult economic climate we are working in at the minute.

"We must be sustainable for the next five,10, 15 years, and the board have the foresight and plan that they have to do to take the club forward."