Losing Neil Lennon is not quite a death in the family, it just feels like it. Amid an outpouring of emotion this week, Gordon Strachan added his own tribute to the soon-to-be-former Celtic captain.

"He is happy with himself and what will happen now is people will remember him as a great player and captain of this club," said the manager. "He is in a good place at the moment."

The 35-year-old will be in an even better place tomorrow afternoon. Win, lose or draw against Hearts at Celtic Park, Lennon will hold aloft the Bank of Scotland Premierleague trophy for the fifth time in seven years. There will be few fonder memories to recall when Lennon returns to something resembling normality.

To some, he will always be the pantomime villain, the man to boo and hiss, but to the vast majority of Celtic fans - and bona fide football fans - he will be remembered for his snarling, contemptuous and utterly authoritative control of his midfield patch.

Replacing Lennon is a two-fold concern for Strachan. The easiest is in appointing a new captain, one who will thrive rather than wilt with his new-found responsibilities. There is an obvious successor. Stephen McManus is the poster boy for perseverance. He hung around longer than is recommended in the fabled footballers' handbook but rewards have been backdated.

There is no-one more naturally suited to leadership within the existing squad, and few who could conceivably offer a decade's worth of service in the role.

"I need to look at the best man for the job," said Strachan obliquely. "It might be that he is not at the club."

The second aspect for the manager is more complicated. Finding an identical stylistic replacement is impossible short of gene cloning. There are few professionials as squat and spiky as the 35-year-old Northern Irishman. From within, Evander Sno and Thomas Gravesen are at opposite ends of the age and experience spectrums.

The Dutchman has the greatest chance of the two, since Gravesen has reduced himself to a novelty figure within the squad. Asking Sno to fill Lennon's boots is a weighty task to ask of a 19-year-old who has only just completed his first full season as a senior professional. The smart money is on a new recruit.

"If somebody asks me how do you replace Neil Lennon?' the answer is you can't," said Strachan. "Manchester United didn't replace Roy Keane, they signed a different type of player in Michael Carrick. To find the new Neil Lennon is impossible for us. We have to adjust to what we have got here."

Strachan was well-acquainted with Lennon's craft as manager of Southampton, but it is likely he has only gleaned a full appreciation of his many and varied qualities in the past two years. "If you do not appreciate Neil Lennon, you do not know anything about the game," he said forcefully at those who mock the midfielder's lack of pace and confined role.

"It shows how mentally strong he is to keep coming back from it but there is a lot of advantages in playing for this club. He just loves playing for the club. He is not a badge-kisser; he has just done fantastically well. He is not obsessed, he just loves the game and loves interacting with people. He goes out and meets the supporters and there is a real honesty about him. There is no doubt he has helped me immensely; £12m would not guarantee a winning midfielder.

"It matters to me in two ways: as well as working with a great player, I have a fantastic relationship with Neil that has become a friendship. I had the same with Howard Wilkinson at Leeds United even though we were chalk and cheese."

Discussions between the player, manager, agents and chief executive did not even reach the point of a contract offer. It is probable Lennon's mind was made up as he surveyed the surroundings of the San Siro after an exhausting defeat to AC Milan in the knockout stages of the Champions League. The pursuit of an elusive away win in the competition is insufficient motivation to continue.

"The conversation I had with Neil is private but it shows bravery to take that decision," said Strachan.

Football is a slave to evolution. Yesterday, the club's greatest ever captain, Billy McNeill, was on hand to help promote the launch of next season's kit, a design that dofts its cap to the Lisbon Lions on the 40th anniversary of their European Cup triumph.

Memories are embroidered all around the traditional crew-neck product, yet for some of Strachan's squad it is the start of a new and exciting era. John Kennedy's return after three years of personal anguish has been rewarded with a new three-year contract.

The manager had contemplated sending the defender out on loan to sharpen his skills after a prolonged period of inactivity, yet his performance against Kilmarnock last weekend has prompted a rethink.

With Steven Pressley, Darren O'Dea, Gary Caldwell and McManus all vying for central defensive places - and Bobo Balde certain to be sold if a buyer canbe found in the summer - accommodation is the manager's biggest problem.

"He Kennedy is off and running now," said Strachan proudly. "The kid gloves were off four months ago, when I thought he was as good as new, and as I said last week, what a comeback.

"Some people have been out of the game for two years and never come back. I need to sit down and speak to him about it now. He might need a rest mentally after all he has been through."