Andreas Hinkel believes Neil Lennon has earned the right to be appointed Celtic manager on a permanent basis.
Tuesday night's Old Firm derby victory maintained Lennon's 100% Clydesdale Bank Premier League record since he was named interim boss at the end of March. The one black mark from his eight games in charge - and one that at the time looked to have been fatal - was last month's Active Nation Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Ross County.
But 28-year-old Germany full-back Hinkel insists the former Hoops captain has done enough to be retained next season and said: "I think a lot of this year's problems have been down to losing good players and having injuries at the wrong times. But Neil is bringing us back to the winning habit and you can say he definitely deserves a longer chance in the job."
He added: "I've gone through a few big changes in my time here and even more so just in this season.
"It's tough to keep going when there is so much bad news and the Scottish Cup defeat to Ross County was awful.
"I hope I never have to experience seasons like this again but it feels we are moving in the right direction at the moment."
Hinkel hopes Lennon does not repeat the mass cull performed by predecessor Tony Mowbray.
He said: "Not winning any trophy this season has put everyone's future in doubt but those things are for people higher up to decide. Nobody will forget Ross County but we have to move on and show we are over it.
"Lenny has the right spirit to help us do that but maybe making too many big changes is not the way - the last manager tried that in January and it didn't work.
"So I think everyone knows we have a man in charge now whom we love and want to win for and, hopefully, that is the first step towards being the team we should be."
Source: PA
