Hibs assistant coach Garry Parker has said he doesn't believe Neil Lennon will quit at Easter Road and his comments about leaving the club were said in the heat of the moment.

Lennon showed his frustration with his side's defeat to Hearts in the Edinburgh derby on Wednesday, saying he would consider his position in the summer and that a fourth place finish in the Premiership wasn't good enough for the newly-promoted side.

The head coach insisted he would review his situation in the close season, saying he wouldn't go on if there were was no progress.

Questions about his future intensified when Lennon didn't show up for his pre-match media conference on Friday but Parker stood in and explained that Lennon was ill, urging people not to read too much into the situation.

"He's okay," Parker said. "He's had the flu for the last couple of weeks and he's at home in Glasgow.

"He's overslept, his wife woke him up and he went back to sleep, which is in fact the true story. So he'll be coming in at some point today. When, I don't know.

"It's nothing at all [to do with post-match comments]. That was the heat of the moment."

Lennon's long-time assistant said he wasn't surprised by the coach's post-match comments, saying he was familiar with the outbursts and that they could be put down to the immediate frustration after defeat.

"You know what he's like," he said. "He's a winner and after the game if things don't go his way he just lets it all out.

"Of course he would have [retracted those comments]. As I say, he doesn't like getting beat at anything, cards or whatever. He loses it and he said a few things. He'll be in tomorrow and you'll see he's okay."

Asked if he expected Lennon to be Hibs boss next season, Parker said: "I would think so, yes. Why not?"

He then said attention should turn to Sunday's match against Rangers and that focusing on finishing the season with victory would be the perfect response to derby defeat.