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Hibs defender Efe Ambrose admits he is determined to make sure head coach Neil Lennon smiles more that he scowls this season.
But the Nigerian cap insists everyone is happy that the Northern Irishman is on the verge of signing a long-term deal at Easter Road.
Lennon is set to be rewarded with a bumper new contract after leading the Leith side back to the Premiership this term following three frustrating years in the Championship.
After working under Lennon for two years at Celtic, Ambrose knows you don’t want to get on the wrong side of the demanding boss, just like the players did in last weekend’s shock 3-1 loss to Hamilton.
But Ambrose insists the 46-year-old’s fiery temper is part of the reason he is so successful in the dugout.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Dundee, Ambrose said: “I think it’s a good thing for the manager to stay, what he has put into the club for the last year has been great, the ambition, his mentality and everything.
“I think he deserves a new contract for getting the team back to where it belongs, and trying to push the team to where they’re supposed to be, among the great teams in Scotland.
“That’s the ambition of the club and I think he can get the club back to where it’s supposed to be. I believe he can, he did it with Celtic, he knows the league and I think he is one of the best coaches in the league too.
“He’s a great coach and he brings the best out of the players. The most important thing is his winning mentality because he doesn’t take any slackness from players, he doesn’t like losing, which we know about.
“If you know you’ve lost or haven’t played well in a game that you’re going to have to face him and you know what that means.
“The players want to do the best to really get him smiling because you don’t want to see the other side of him.
“We try to do our best on the pitch, make sure we do our talking on the pitch so when we get back to the dressing room he is smiling.
“Having played for him for so long, I always want to make him smile.”
