Celtic's Neil Lennon hits back after criticism from Walter Smith

Neil Lennon has hit back at Walter Smith after the departing Rangers manager claimed Celtic's criticism of referees "set the tone" for an ugly Scottish season. Smith pointed the finger directly at Rangers' city rivals this week but Lennon, the Celtic manager, firmly disputed those comments on the eve of his team's Scottish Cup final against Motherwell. "I was disappointed by it," said Lennon. "He could have spoken to me about it first. He had plenty of opportunities to do that. I didn't think there was any real need for it either. I think he's wrong, he's totally wrong." Lennon made direct reference to Celtic's infamous visit to Dundee United in October. On that occasion the referee, Dougie McDonald, lied to the Celtic manager over the circumstances surrounding the reversal of a penalty award. "Listen, I went into a referee's room and the guy didn't tell me the truth," Lennon said. "Then his assistant came out two days later and blew the whistle on him. I didn't, our club didn't. They did. "Then there were cover-ups and non-truths. It led me to think: 'Well, I'm not the first Celtic manager not to be told the truth.' "Our club were just looking for transparency. I don't think that's a lot to ask for. I mean, you are being lied to. It's not even a major lie but it just grew and grew and grew into something they created themselves." On another matter of officialdom Lennon said: "I went to a disciplinary hearing for the first time and got a six-game ban. The president [of the Scottish FA] was there and was in and out of the meeting. Is that right or wrong? Should he be there? "He's got a right to be there but was he at other disciplinary meetings this year? So then we had to bring in legal advice to say it was fundamentally wrong, what they did in the disciplinary meeting." Lennon would be forgiven a sigh of relief when the final whistle blows on the Scottish season at Hampden Park on Saturday. The Northern Irishman knows victory over Motherwell would hand Celtic their first trophy since 2009; football issues have been firmly overshadowed in recent months, though, by security threats towards Lennon. Nonetheless, in the latest display of his character, Lennon said the close season does not sit well with him. He even saw fit to joke about his personal circumstances on Friday. "It was funny yesterday, I played golf and it was a shotgun start," Lennon said with a laugh. "I fucking shit myself. Four heavies came out of the trees and jumped on me. "I don't want this season to end. I've loved it and I've more or less enjoyed every minute of it, in the football sense." Lennon reiterated that he had not considered leaving Celtic as security issues surrounding him become more intense. "I owe it to the players I brought to the club to try to establish both me and them at the club," he added. "To then have walked away and left them, when they had contributed so much to the club this season, would have been remiss of me. "People wouldn't have said, 'That was a selfish thing to do', and it had crossed my mind once or twice. But in the wider scheme of things, I love this job. When you love football as much as we do, then to be a manager is a privilege. So you shouldn't have to give up your job for non-footballing reasons."