YOU know the old saying “give an inch, take a mile?”

When Neil Lennon came in to replace Dougie Freedman in October the changes off the pitch were just as significant as those on it.

Some players had suffered under what was a sterile - some would say over-stringent - line taken by Dougie Freedman and his staff at the training ground. In walked Lennon, and things became, well, enjoyable.

Asking his players to be men, not boys, he heaped some extra responsibilities on their shoulders. Some thrived, not least the younger players who now felt part of the senior set-up for the first time.

In trying to improve team spirit he ensured players would prepare for games as a group, staying together at a hotel, eating together – all methods inherited from his old Leicester and Celtic mentor Martin O’Neill.

Players have been given licence to enjoy themselves socially, certainly more so than they were allowed under Freedman, but with that privilege comes accountability.

Barry Bannan and Neil Danns have clearly over-stepped a line, crazily enough in their own club’s hotel. What they did was daft, especially for an old hand like Danns, but after having a public example made of them it is perhaps right to move on now.

Lennon dealt with the situation quickly and firmly. Compare that, if you will, to the days of whispering and rumour-mongering that followed similar controversies involving Jermaine Beckford or Jay Spearing earlier this season.

Wanderers needed someone to stick their head above the parapet, show fans that bad behaviour wouldn’t be tolerated, and they got it.

I, for one, hope Danns and Bannan hold up their hands and get back out there on the pitch before the end of the season. Both lads are an asset on the pitch and one indiscretion doesn’t change it.

Let it be a lesson, though, and particularly to younger lads coming through at the club, Lennon won’t suffer fools, however talented they are.