Ronnie Cully

The Celtic boss revealed he sat down with the midfielder just hours before he went out and helped his club defeat  Kilmarnock 4-1 to extend their lead in the title race to 15 points.

Lennon explained there had been no offers for Wanyama.

By contrast, Gary Hooper has been the subject of a third bid from Norwich, which Celtic have again had no hesitation in rejecting. In the event the striker is sold to the Canaries tonight, Lennon is expected to make moves to sign Kevin Doyle from Wolves on loan.

The Hoops striker hit another two goals in last night's 4-0 rout of Dundee United, confirming to his boss that their goal-den Bhoy is bringing even more to the table as the speculation over his future grows. The double – taking his tally to 22 for the season – came in front of a crowd which included Sir Alex Ferguson.

And it arrived just hours after Lennon confirmed Hooper had rejected Celtic's contract offer, and that the club had, in turn, knocked back Norwich's second bid for the striker.