Lawwell promises to keep team top by releasing funds for January sales

Published on Sunday 30 November 2008 22:43

CELTIC chief executive Peter Lawwell has vowed to provide funds in January to boost the club's quest for four titles in a row. The Scottish champions are seven points clear at the top of the SPL and, with no European football to look forward to after Christmas, Celtic will place their entire focus on winning a fourth consecutive title.

Lawwell has promised the fans there will be new faces in January to bolster their chances further.

He said: "Our first focus is to win the league and we will do whatever we can to make that happen. We have three domestic trophies to win. We want to win the SPL title to get us to four in a row and be back in the Champions League next year. To that end, in the short term, we will be doing as much as we can to support (manager] Gordon (Strachan] in January. We are looking at both quality and quantity. We have a track record of getting to a transfer window and coming out of it stronger."

Lawwell insists he will be surprised if midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura quits Celtic in the next transfer window despite reports linking him with a return to Japan.

He added: "We hope he will stay. If he does go, it will be a surprise. He will leave at some point. If it is the summer, then clearly we must plan for that replacement and we will do that."

Meanwhile, Strachan insists he has no intention of walking away from Celtic either.

He said: "A lot of people maybe think it was a good time to go after three titles. But they're not me.

"They said that after year one, they said it for year two, then three, and they'll say it again for year four. But it's people who don't really know me.

"It's funny how people can say, 'He's not got the stomach for it.' But it's those who don't know me who are saying what I'm going to do. Why would I leave? What would I do?"

One man who is on Celtic's radar for a January arrival is 21-year-old Derry City midfielder Niall McGinn, one of Irish football's hottest prospects.

McGinn was recently named young player of the year by the Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland days before he made his debut for Northern Ireland, coming off the bench against Hungary at Windsor Park.

"Celtic are obviously a big club and it is a great honour to discover that they are looking at me," said McGinn, who is also being watched by Swansea City. "It would be a great move.

"But I don't want to play in the reserves. I need to be playing regularly to keep me in the Northern Ireland squad.