THE Wembley scoreline bore little significance for Neil Lennon as he watched Fraser Forster take his place between the sticks for England.

And the Celtic manager believes that his player's first cap in the 2-0 defeat to Chile is one of the greatest achievements of his managerial career.

Forster was allowed to leave Newcastle, firstly on loan and latterly permanently, with Alan Pardew particularly scathing about Forster's decision to head north of the border.

But the keeper's continual improvement and development at Celtic has elevated him to such a position that he is competing to be England's No.1 - and Lennon is delighted for the giant stopper.

"One of the best things I have been involved in as a manager is to get a player who was third-choice goalkeeper at Newcastle playing for England," said Lennon. "Fraser has worked tirelessly on his game, especially his agility and his kicking, but one of the things I have always liked about him is his presence, while when he makes saves his big arms bat the ball away.

"His performances in the Champions League are one of the main reasons we have been so successful over the last few years and I'm delighted Roy Hodgson gave him the opportunity.

"But I don't want it to be a short-term thing for Fraser; I want him to be knocking on the door for the next two, three, four years as he certainly has the game and temperament to do that."

Meanwhile, in an expansive interview with Sky Sports' 'Goals on Sunday', Lennon also revealed his surprise that Roy Keane was appointed as Martin O'Neill's assistant.

The former Celtic boss got his Republic of Ireland managerial career off to a winning start against Latvia and Lennon is delighted to see O'Neill back in football after being sacked by Sunderland.

"I had 10 unbelievable years under Martin - who is a brilliant man-manager who knows the game so well and brought stability and success to Leicester - and I think international management will suit him at this stage of his career," said Lennon.

"Roy is an interesting one as I didn't see him (becoming Ireland assistant) but he has vast knowledge of the game and I think his presence and aura in the dressing room and the fact he was one of the best players of his generation will lift the players.

"I'm sure Roy will have an input in tactics and team selection, even though it's pretty clear that Martin is the manager, and he can only learn from Martin, who is a fantastic personality and someone the players will love."

Lennon also spoke of his time as a player at Celtic and the success that side had during O'Neill's years at the club.

Citing Lubomir Moravcik as one of the most talented players he even played with, Lennon also revealed his anguish as the curtain came down on his playing time with the Hoops.

He said: "Lubomir Moravcik was one of the best players I ever played with.

"I also played with Chris Sutton, Henrik Larsson, Stiliyan Petrov and Paul Lambert, so we thought we should win all the time and that was a nice mentality to have - but it was only when we didn't win that we realised how important winning was to us and what it means.

"My last game for Celtic as a player (the 2007 Scottish Cup Final) was emotional and I remember crying; I couldn't have asked for any more from my time there having worked under two great managers (Martin O'Neill and Gordon Strachan) and got fantastic support from everyone, so I had to take a few minutes and compose myself."