Celtic boss Neil Lennon glad to ward off Norwich interest in Gary Hooper

01-Feb-2013 10:55:00 PM

The Hoops boss was pleased to see his board reject numerous bids from the Canaries for the in-form striker but was disappointed to miss out on a deal for Kevin Doyle

Celtic manager Neil Lennon was delighted to see off the interest of Norwich in striker Gary Hooper after numerous bids for the English forward were shunned by the club's board.

Lennon was determined to keep the forward, who has netted 23 times already this season, ahead of this month's important Champions League tie with Juventus.

And the former Leicester midfielder was pleased to see his club stand firm to offers for their star man.

"I think we made our stance pretty clear," he told Sky Sports News.

"I don't think a lot of people believed us but we want to keep this team together for the foreseeable future.

"Gary is a huge part of that and I'm very grateful to the board for standing by our decision on that.

"We look forward to a great second half to the season now."

Lennon also confirmed his interest in Wolves striker Kevin Doyle and revealed Celtic had a bid for the Republic of Ireland international rejected shortly before the window closed.

"He is a player we have admired for a long time but Wolves were steadfast, like we've been, so we obviously respect that," he added.

"They feel Kevin is a very important player there and it just wasn't to be."

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