SOCCER:NEIL LENNON has cranked up the pressure for tomorrow's Old Firm game by saying Celtic have been "consistently" wronged by referees in the fixture recently. His claim intensifies the focus on Willie Collum, who will be taking charge of his first Glasgow derby.

“It’s a difficult one for him,” Lennon, the Celtic manager, said. “Considering the recent history of controversial decisions that have gone against us in these games, I just hope he has a good day and we’re not talking about him after the game. I just hope he gets the big decisions right.”

Pressed on whether he thinks Celtic have had a particularly rough ride with Old Firm refereeing-calls, Lennon said: “Yes, certainly last year. We have tried to do something about it. I think the club made the position quite clear last year, so we’ll draw a line under it until twenty to three on Sunday. I put it down to human error. But you can’t keep getting those decisions wrong on a consistent basis. I would like to think it is just honest mistakes being made.”

Tomorrow’s Celtic Park encounter carries particular significance, both teams entering it with a 100 per cent league record this season. “These are the games that define you as a Celtic or Rangers player,” Lennon said. “These are the games that fans remember most, so it’s important that you make your mark on them.”

The manager has his doubters, despite 16 wins in a row in SPL games since he was appointed – originally on an interim basis – in March. “I know that if we were to lose this game people would say: ‘He hasn’t got it’ or ‘he’s not cut out for this yet’.

“I think that would be slightly unfair, considering we’ve won 16 out of 16 league games so far. People should look beyond judging me on a game-by-game basis. But they won’t. That’s just in some people’s DNA.”

Lennon has been praised by Walter Smith, however. The Rangers manager has far more experience yet he admires the work undertaken by his callow opposite number. “You have to say that they have had a terrific reaction from every one of his players since he has gone in there,” Smith said. “He has been bold enough to change practically a whole group of players around and start again.

“There is always a respect for Celtic managers. In my case, from the old days, it’s not just a respect for the manager but a respect for their club as well. Everybody looks in from the outside of the Old Firm and says it’s an easy situation to handle. But those of us who have experienced it know that it’s not. The opposite is probably the case.”