Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell addresses fan unrest over boardroom contempt, being 'asleep at the wheel' and Lennon blindspot at club AGM

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell (right) , with manager Neil Lennon and director Brian Wilson during last year's Celtic AGM. (Photo by Gary Hutchison / SNS Group)

Acknowledging the “frustrations” of a support now demanding boardroom change above a change of football manager, Lawwell also made a stirring defence of Neil Lennon in the Celtic TV produced video. Stating that the Irishman was “the right man for the job in February 19...and is the right man for it now”, the club chief executive also rejected out of hand accusations the board have been “asleep at the wheel” over the fact Rangers have been able to establish a 13-point lead in a league campaign consuming all at the club as a consequence of the record 10-in-a-row bid.

Lawwell pointed to a £35m outlay on players over a 14-month spell that is beyond any previous such level of investment by the club as he acknowledged the team’s position in the Premiership is “difficult” even they would not give up on achieving their “ambitions”.

Questioned about the unrest that has brought protests for three successful Sundays outside Celtic Park, he said: “I can fully understand it. We are all Celtc supporters here too. I can understand the frustration, I can understand the disappointment in such a big year we’ve had such a difficult run in the last eight weeks. And that is what it is, eight weeks.

“I can see that, I’m a Celtic supporter myself. Born a Celtic supporter, I will die a Celtic supporter. My family are all Celtic supporters, so I get it and we understand it. What we are seeing in today’s world, and the social media world, that the board are holding the fans in contempt, they [the board] are suggesting they [fans] are entitled...it can get a wee bit over the top, I must say. “But what I can say is the support we’ve had over the summer, the supporters’ commitment to this club has been inspiring, nothing short of remarkable. And we thank them hugely for that [in a] hugely challenging time for everybody, hugely challenging time for people at home.

"As always, our duty and responsibility is to do the right thing for Celtic. We have no other agenda, no other purpose or motive, other than to make the right decisions for this great club that will take us forward. We haven’t given up [on the league] in this big year. There are circumstances that have put us in this position. And we will go and do everything we can to get the league this year.”

Lawwell appeared particularly irked by the oft-stated claim that the board’s complacency has allowed Rangers to appear in position to knock them off their perch in Scottish football.

“That’s not the case [that we’ve been asleep at the wheel”, he said. “If you go back to last May, we were crowned SPFL champions for the ninth time in a row. We have won the treble treble and could win the quadruple treble. Incredible domestic success. Despite that, in the summer, we strengthened the squad knowing there was going to be a challenge this year to a level that wehavent done before and come out of the window with a very strong squad and we had spent as a club, over the previous 14 months - from July 2019 to that point [October 2020], £35m. We have never spent anything like that in the past.

“We have strengthened, and we have kept all our big players. That’s not complacency. And I believe we saw that coming, and prepared for that. We prepared by having reserves in the club, some of which were affected by the pandemic, but those reserves were invested in to the team to make us stronger. We had a manager that delivers on a track record, and in addition we continually invest more and more into our football functions: our sports science, analysis, performance, recruitment. All to take the club forward. In no way were we sitting back, being complacent, waiting for things to happen.”

A similarly robust response was given by Lawwell over the continued backing for Lennon, which did not waver as the club crumbled in the Europa League, lost at home to Ross County in the league cup and endured a series of slips-ups in the league that have made Rangers firm favourites to be crowned champions.

“I do [see Neil Lennon is the right man to lead Celtic],” he said. “Neil’s credentials as a Celtic man are there for everybody to see. His credentials as a football manager are there for everybody to see. He came back in February ‘19 and probably had everything to lose and nothing much to win. But he came in, won us the league, won us the Scottish Cup, the treble treble. He then took on the team again, he won the League Cup, beating Rangers in the final, and we won the group section in the Europa League. We then got our nine-in-a-row title and now he’s got us inthe Scottish Cup final that hopefully will be the unprecedented quadruple treble.

“He was the man in February ‘19, he was the man for it last summer and we believe he is the man for it now. He has the players, and the trust and confidence of the players, and the trust and confidence of his backroom team and we believe, at this particular time, that he is the best man to try and recover this deficit in the league and get us on to 10-in-a-row.”

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