Celtic chief Peter Lawwell calls for SFA to be restructured

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell. Picture: Alan Harvey/SNS

Lawwell, no longer on the SFA board, feels it is not just departed chief executive Stewart Regan who should take responsibility for the failure to find a replacement for Gordon Strachan and believes other long-serving board members are culpable.

“I came off the board a couple of years ago so from the outside looking in clearly there are problems,” Lawwell told Radio Scotland. “And the problems appear to be significant. It seems that Stewart Regan has taken the rap for that, in terms of the changes in the last couple of weeks. And I think there are others in there who have presided over the SFA for a number of years that really need to have a look at themselves as well.

“I don’t think it is worth, or there is any value in, personalising it. Clearly there are issues that need to be addressed.

“On the other hand there are positives because you have a board there with very capable people in Mike Mulraney, who represent the clubs, alongside Ian Maxwell. And you’ve got independent non-executives like Gary Hughes and Anna Stewart, who are capable people.

“And I think it’s now time for these guys to be given their head and maybe given a bit more authority to actually understand what is the purpose of the SFA in the modern game. There should be a process of restructuring and reorganising that allows the SFA to be fit for that purpose.” He added: “Now there are a lot of good staff at the SFA, a lot of good people that we engage with, so that is another positive. For me there is an opportunity here now for everybody to sit down, look at what it should be doing, look at what’s gone wrong, learn lessons, and move on.”