Peter Lawwell

If this is who I think you’re talking about, the guy’s an absolute riddy, to the extent that, no offence, but I really didn’t think anyone read him any more.

 

Should never of been given the position in the first place, hopefully someone younger with some fresher ideas. We’re not looking for massive changes, just for the board to actually listen to fans and be proactive on all fronts.

 

I’m not against him being around in an advisory role as a sort of older head type but would love someone younger thats got a background in football to come in and modernise the club like we hoped Mckay would.

 

Aye, he's come out with some absolute nonsense in recent years.

 

Mind people used to get angry on here when Phil Mac got slated by anybody

The guy should have gave up writing after the huns died, he’s got the square root of fuckall right since.

 

Chairman, what would you regard as the highlights achieved in the past year, both on and off the pitch?

Well, again, it was another really excellent year for the club. A lot of positive stuff going on. Off the pitch, certainly, the financials were really, really positive. Our turnover at £124.6 million, which was 3.9% last year. Profitable before tax of £17.8 million.

And more than £72 million in the bank at the end of the year in terms of cash reserves. So really, really positive off the pitch. Those cash reserves and the strong balance sheet we have allowed us to invest in the squad in the summer. We broke our transfer record on two occasions. We've invested in Lennoxtown, an upgrade. We've invested in the infrastructure changes that are needed.

And, of course, we've got Barrowfield, which is a really exciting project that will hopefully be open in January. And it will give us great benefit in the long term in terms of developing our kids and the women's football. Another advantage having such high cash reserves has for us is that this an uncertain industry. When you're winning, everything is fine. But we need to provide for the longer term if things don't look quite as well as they have been in the past.

So we can see, looking elsewhere, what happens if you don't participate in the Champions League for a year and you replace that with the Europa League. So that is a difficult financial challenge we have looking forward. So, all in all, off the pitch, really, really positive.

On the pitch, again, another great year. We won the double. We won the Women's SWPL for the first time.

And we qualified for the Champions League last year for the men. And this year for the men and the women. So a great year. And credit to everybody that's involved.



What's the club's wider strategy going forward?

In the first team, we hope to play in the Champions League and then progress the careers and if they want to stay here, fantastic, but if they don't, we transfer them and reinvest the transfer money back into the squad. That's basically how we approach our player recruitment. Of course, you need more experienced players to bring that balance to develop the kids on and that's part of the package for the first team.

But again, we need to create a circumstance where coaching, behind that, creates a team with the players that we're bringing in to develop. And on the commercial side, for example, we are a hugely popular club around the world, we're a huge institution, but we don't have the mass audience that comes with Real Madrid, Man United, Man City. So we have to create a way that we can get more people to come to Celtic.

We play in Scotland, it's a small league and therefore it doesn't attract a mass audience. So again, we have to be creative, we have to be creative in social channels, in our own platforms and put that together to create exciting, new, innovative content that actually attracts people to Celtic. So overall, I think it's there as well, strategy and therefore will continue down the line we've been for the last 20 years





You yourself were recently made vice chairman of the European Club Association. How important to the club is Celtic's involvement at such a strategic level in the ECA?

The European Club Association is recognised by UEFA and FIFA as the sole independent representative of the clubs around Europe. There are around 700 clubs in it. So to have a seat at that table I think is really important for our club and for Scottish football. The positions I have, it takes a lot of time, the positions are as bench chair of the ECA, which is chaired by Nasser Khalifa, the PSG president. I'm on the ECA executive committee, I'm on the elite ECA finance working group and I'm on the joint venture company between UEFA and ECA that is responsible for all the commercial and administration aspects of the European competitions, which is the Champions League, Europa League, the Conference League, the Youth League, the Super Cup and Footsal.


So it's really, really important for us to be involved. In the achievements of the ECA, just to give some perspective, the achievements of the ECA over the last few years is heavily involved in the new European competition formats, access and distribution. We are a huge part in the new financial sustainability rules, which gives a bit more competitive balance.

I hope to get a bit more competitive balance in the competitions and also make more sure the clubs will live by their means. We've also been heavily involved in the solidarity increase for the non-participating clubs in the Champions League. So for example, the fact that we are participating in the Champions League, I think this year other SPFL clubs will get around a million euros a year from the solidarity, which is quite significant for these clubs.

And finally, we are again instrumental in providing the club benefit scheme, which is partly compensated for players going into international cricket. So a lot of important stuff, a lot of positive stuff, but primarily it gives us a seat at the table to help influence and define the future of European club football.


So looking ahead, now what are the main challenges and opportunities which face Celtic?

I think that the challenges are probably as they are, it's to keep maintaining our dominance in Scotland.

The challenge is obviously to improve and progress in the Champions League, be regular participants, improve there and improve and get as far as we possibly can go. The opportunities, I think, all centre around European competition. I think the fact that we have a bit of influence, we need to make sure that European club competition goes the way we want to go, maybe expansion and the new format actually give us more games, more certainty, there are more clubs in it and potentially more money.

So really to expand on that going forward, I think the opportunities certainly lie in Europe rather than here in Scotland. And finally, once again, thanks to everyone for their fantastic support over the years. It's been vital to this club in terms of success.

 

Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell hit back at a journalist turned blogger over a "highly personal question" in a tense exchange at the club AGM.


The meeting was held at Celtic Park this morning with a section reserved for shareholders to ask questions to those at the top table.

One of those to step to the microphone was former Joe McHugh, a prominent Celtic blogger who previously worked for the Daily Mirror as a journalist.

The blogger questioned chiefs over the appointment of Mark Lawwell as head of recruitment citing "three disastrous transfer windows" and the departure of the "chairman's son".

Mark Lawwell - who helped bring Ange Postecoglou to Celtic - joined the club from the City Group. He served for two years before leaving "to pursue fresh challenges".

Suggesting Lawwell was "sacked", McHugh questioned the "jovial" nature of the appointment of Lawwell at the club's last AGM.

The blogger said: "Last year, you were quite jovial when asked about the appointment of Mark Lawwell as the head of recruitment.

"After three disastrous transfer windows, when did you first get concerned about the performance of the chairman's son? And at what point did you decide that you had to sack the chairman's son?"


Chairman Lawwell was quick to respond as he called out McHugh over the "highly personal question" and stated the blogger has an "unhealthy obsession" with him and his son.

He said: "Can I first come in. This is a highly personal question.

"Joe writes a blog and Joe has got an unhealthy obsession with me and my son, that's the background. So I'm not going to give this question any credibility by answering it.

"I will pass to Michael, if you keep that in mind, where Joe's coming from please."

Michael Nicholson and Brendan Rodgers then intervened to shut down the question and defend Lawwell.

Nicholson stated: "This is a meeting to discuss Celtic. It's not a meeting to discuss unwarranted personal attacks on any of our colleagues or former colleagues.

"Last year I wasn't jovial, I was very serious about the decision that we'd made to bring Mark to the club. Those decisions we stand by.

"The collective that we worked with over the last period of time is, as I say, a collective responsibility. When Mark decided to leave to pursue other opportunities, we were sorry to see him go.

"Brendan and I worked very closely with Mark. And as I say, that's not jovial, that's a statement of fact. So fair enough."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers then defended Lawwell adding: "Can I just come in on that... Mark done a fantastic job here at Celtic. Every player that comes into here will not succeed.

"I think if you look at Mark's influence on bringing in Ange Postecoglou was huge. If that was his only contribution to here, then he did a fantastic job. But he didn't. He was influenced from bringing in other players, like Ali Johnson and some of these other guys.

"All the players won't work out that come in here, and I know that as a manager and as a coach.

"My experience of working with Mark was second to none. He decided to go down a different route, and I respect that. But I also sit here and he's defence because he's a massive Celtic supporter. Like Peter, from a Celtic family, who want nothing but the best for Celtic.

"Sometimes in that role as recruitment, like it is as a manager, you bring in a player, and it just might not quite work out for whatever reason. But finally, what I do know is that his intention was for the very, very best for Celtic. And for that, that's why I will defend him