Lennon eager to keep striker

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Celtic boss Neil Lennon has again reiterated his desire to keep hold of leading scorer Gary Hooper.

"There's a contract on the table for him, and if he wants to take it it's there for him" - Neil Lennon

The 24-year-old scored twice to earn his side a comfortable 4-1 home victory against Hearts on their return to league action at the weekend.

That followed the recent bid for his services from English Premier League outfit Norwich City that was immediately rejected by the Scottish champions.

"He's improving all the time and, rightly, clubs are interested in him," Lennon told BBC Scotland. "But he's ours and we want to keep him for a long time. Any clubs after him will have to dig deep. We're not encouraging any offers."

Hooper is under contract with the club until the summer of 2014 and has unsurprisingly already been offered a new deal to remain at Parkhead.

"I thought Hooper was fantastic again today from start to finish," Lennon continued. "His all-round game, he just keeps getting better and better. He gets two goals today, but what pleases me more is his contribution to the team today, he worked really hard.

"There's a contract on the table for him, and if he wants to take it it's there for him," he added.

First-choice goalkeeper Fraser Forster missed the game with a neck injury and was replaced by Lukasz Zaluska.

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