NEIL LENNON might not have been the most gifted player ever to play for Celtic – but he is certainly one of the most successful.

Although he was actually a far more adept footballer than many gave him credit for, it was his determination to win matches and his desire to put the team first which, above all else, made him such a distinguished player for the Parkhead club.

He was, of course, a big character in a dressing room packed with experienced and strong-willed players such as Chris Sutton, Henrik Larsson, John Hartson, Paul Lambert, Stilian Petrov and Bobo Balde.

Under Martin O'Neill's leadership, it was a dressing room where there was no hiding place if you weren't pulling your weight.

If you weren't doing yourself or the team justice then your team-mates were just as likely to give you serious stick as the coaching staff.

Unfortunately for Lennon, that sort of mentality and pride in their performance is clearly lacking from the current crop of players, perhaps with the exception of a limited few such as James Forrest, Joe Ledley and Mark Wilson.

At least that trio give the impression they are trying their best, however, the same cannot be said for the vast majority of the Celtic team.

In terms of ability, there is no way on this earth they should find themselves 12 points behind in the title race at this stage of the season, even though Rangers deserve a great deal of credit for grinding out results and showing a level of desire which is lacking badly at Parkhead.

And Lennon needs to look no further than the two players he started in attack in the 0-0 draw against Hibs to see the full extent of his problems.

Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes were nothing short of disgraceful – their lack of movement was a disturbing sight for their manager on the sidelines.

Time after time their team-mates looked up to try and spot a run or a willingness to take possession and, on most occasions, they could see nothing but Hibs jerseys.

When the ball was in wide areas, there was no darting run to the front post or an effort to find a yard of space.

It was probably one of the easiest afternoons the Hibs defence have had all season and it was so bad that the Celtic supporters, many of whom aren't big fans of Georgios Samaras, were overjoyed to see him introduced to play late in the second half as a replacement for Hooper.

Both of the misfiring strikers have proven themselves to be clinical goalscorers, but there are times when you just need to put in a shift for the team and make a pest of yourself in the hope that it somehow leads to a break of the ball for either yourself or a team-mate.

It seemed like too much effort for them at the weekend, though. It's okay demanding the ball and looking the part when you are 4-1 up at Easter Road, as was the case with the pair of them last week in their side's League Cup victory, but it was a completely different story on Saturday.

However, that isn't the only problem Lennon will mull over this week. He must be asking himself what happened to the midfield powerhouse who seemed destined for big things with the likes of Manchester United monitoring closely. Yes, the Beram Kayal of last season – as opposed to the huffy, disinterested one at present.

Remember the guy who would work tirelessly for the 90 minutes, win more than his fair share of tackles and drive his team forward at every oppor-tunity? Where has he gone?

Instead of that, Kayal looks as though he would much rather be anywhere other than out there on the pitch.

When he loses possession he doesn't seem anywhere near as determined to win it back as he was in the past. His passing is poor and games are passing him by. Those three weren't the only ones who were well off the pace – but for them, it seemed more than that. They didn't look as interested or as hungry as you would expect at a time when the manager's neck is on the line and the title is edging further away.

Ironically, the Celtic defence actually managed to keep a clean sheet, even though they found themselves troubled at times with Hibs breaking up the park quickly.

But after being held to a 0-0 draw, which leaves them 12 points behind league leaders Rangers, even that wouldn't have lifted Lennon's spirits.

His side's title ambitions must be very close to over. And if that doesn't spark a reaction then nothing will – something Lennon knows better than anyone including, it seems, most of his players.