Peter Lawwell's disgraceful interview with The Sun (JFT96)

THEY couldn’t even spell his name correctly.

But Peter Lawwell — two Ws, not one — didn’t squirm or shift in his directors’ box seat as that banner was unfurled.

Instead he just shrugged.

Sure, the Parkhead chief executive would love to be Mr Popular with each and every one of the club’s 40,500 season-ticket holders.

But that’s just not realistic.

Not when the words ‘Lawwell and Desmond’s legacy, empty jerseys, empty hearts, empty dreams and empty stands’ are written in five-foot high letters.

But then if there’s one thing the 56-year-old has urged supporters to hold onto during his 12-year tenure at the club, it’s realism.

On and off the park that’s all he says he’s interested in — as he urges those fans who demand big changes and big-money signings to do the same.

Lawwell told SunSport: “Supporters are very much entitled to their opinion.

“When things don’t go as well as they hope then there is always somebody to blame. In terms of the banners I don’t take that personally.

“I take it as a sign of the times, but the answer is this: If I’m not here, then there will be a new me.

“And he’s not suddenly going to find tens of millions of pounds stuffed in the bottom drawer. And he’s only going to try and do the same things that I’ve been doing to maximise the future of this club.

“Listen, I can understand why people on the outside looking in have their opinions but they don’t actually know how the club is run.

“We see it at the Emirates, we see it at Goodison and Villa. That’s where we are in today’s society. When supporters become frustrated and disappointed they look for people to blame.

“At first it was Ronny who got it and he’s now going so the sights are trained on me but my view is that, as a club, we’re in very good shape.

“We’ve had a very, very tough year but we look forward with a new manager and a new beginning.

“At the moment I’m focused on getting the right manager in and preparing for the new season.

“Criticism is par for the course when you’ve been at the club as long as I have. There are going to be lows and you’re going to get it in the neck. It’s the same for Dermot who’s been here even longer.

“I can understand why it happens because the supporters always look for more. But my life is based on reality, not perception. I know exactly where we are as a club. We’re in a good place.

“If I decide to go or the board decides it’s time for me to go, then the club is merely going to get a new me. Now the new me might be better but he might not be as good. But the club will continue down the same track.”

Lawwell could have upped and left long ago. He could have easily accepted one of the enticing offers from England of much more money for far less grief.

And frankly when Celtic supporters think of that prospect there will be many of them who wish to * he had. But he didn’t, for one reason.

Lawwell added: “I love the club. If it was about the money I wouldn’t be here. I’ve had opportunities to go — for a LOT of money — but I chose to stay.

“It’s not just been one opportunity either. But Celtic is my life. It’s more than a job, it’s a passion.

“I’ve supported Celtic all my life. I’d like to think when I do eventually go I can look back and say: ‘I did this, that and the next thing’.

“You’ve got social media and the bloggers, posters and trolls who think they know what’s going on at the club. They don’t.

“They don’t have all the information. The reality is different from their perception and I need to deal with reality every day.

“But criticism comes with living a public life in 2016. People dislike me having never met me, but that goes with the territory and you either put up with it or you don’t.

“And at the moment I’m putting up with it because I’ve got things to do. But I’ll be honest, the job is all-consuming, it’s 24/7.

“There is very little time in my life when I don’t think about Celtic and my job.”

Lawwell’s priority right now is to identify and appoint a manager to take Celtic into the Champions League. To do what Ronny Deila couldn’t.

But whether it’s Moyes, Rodgers, Lennon, Keane or AN Other what’s certain is that there isn’t going to be a huge pot of money to spend.

Lawwell added: “We’d love to go to the new manager and say we have a £40million warchest or a £50m warchest to buy the best and go for it. (Coz that's what Celtic fans ask for you cuntbag)

“But we play in Scotland, we don’t have that. The reality is we don’t have an alternative to what we’re doing. For me that’s an exciting project for the right manager, the right guy. This is Celtic.

“It’s an iconic club, one of the biggest in the world. Even today we’re highly regarded as one of the best-run clubs in Europe.

“There is an excitement here which should be an attraction for somebody to come, get a hold of it and take us back into the Champions League.

“If your ambitions are to win the Scottish Premier League and move on then I can see that. But our ambition is to go further so for me it’s a very attractive proposition for somebody who wants to come in and create something.

“We get criticised for our strategy but I just don’t see any alternative. Everything we take out we put back in. But that’s it.

“We’re not going to take on any debt. We don’t have any other resources other than the ones we create for ourselves but that’s fine because we’ll spend everything we can. But it’s about getting the right manager to spend it wisely.”

Celtic won’t speculate to accumulate. The argument that spending just slightly more — say £20m on players — would boost their chances of reaching the Champions League group stages doesn’t wash with the Parkhead chief exec.

He added: “It might. But if we take the club into £20m worth of debt, and it doesn’t happen, where does that leave us?

“For a Scottish club to owe that kind of money leads to trouble. You don’t have to look very far to see the consequences of people trying things which ‘might’ happen.

“That is something we will not do. But it’s not like we don’t spend money — our average is £10m a year on transfers.

“We can be flexible but we’re not going to take on debt which could ultimately be very dangerous.”

 

Is there not one journalist left in Scotland to question PL about negligence? about how his salary has increased 10 fold while the team has regressed 10 fold...signing policy? all this and more?? I despair

 

Don't see much wrong in what he's saying. He's just reaffirming that he does the job DD wants him to do and he does it very well. We don't spend money that we don't have and that's the way we'll always be going forward.

I don't think he should get as much stick as he does to be perfectly honest, he does a thankless job at the moment which takes up most of his life while mere onlookers act like he's an absolute * when really he's just trying to do what's best for the club.

 

From a guy that rarely gives interviews I would say the timing of this is a bit of a worry. Can only imagine he's easing us in for an underwhelming managerial appointment. Managing expectations.

 

I don't see anything even remotely disgraceful about that - in fact to the contrary, he is calling it exactly like it is and its time some of those critics got a dose of reality regarding the financial situation of Scottish football.

 

I think he is talking through his hole. What Celtic fan has called for us to spend 20 million pounds, never mind a 40 or 50 million * 'warchest'? That's patronising bollox.

Personally I don't see anything wrong with our signing policy in recent years, in fact I would encourage it as I think the more you spend the less likely you are to find value. My issue is the fact that we actually did manage to build a very good side with this signing policy only to * tear it apart once it had a successful European campaign! After the 12/13 season we didn't need to speculate to accumulate, we already had a really good team that would have only needed a couple of additions per season.

That team under Lenny proved it was CL quality in getting to the last 16, is he seriously trying to say that perhaps improving the wages of the likes of Hooper, Wanyama etc was too much of a risk as CL wouldn't be a guarantee? In my eyes that's just bullshit because if we kept that team and built on it over the last few years then we'd be CL regulars.

 

Don't see what's bad about that. He's honest and he's right, we don't actually know what's going at the club. Also how long is the Hillsborough verdict being "recent" going to be used to say "poor timing" when anyone does anything with the Sun?

 

I like Lawwell

* are completely out of touch with modern business, he is exactly right in what he is saying, he leaves another one of him comes in.

Its insane to think we can spend silly money on wages and on players, people don't hate the board the hate the position the epl money has left us as a club.

Lawwell tried as to get in the right sort of progressive manager twice, it never worked but it was the right idea.

I personally think the stick he gets isn't logical, he does a proper business job on the club.

 

I like Lawwell

* are completely out of touch with modern business, he is exactly right in what he is saying, he leaves another one of him comes in.

Its insane to think we can spend silly money on wages and on players, people don't hate the board the hate the position the epl money has left us as a club.

Lawwell tried as to get in the right sort of progressive manager twice, it never worked but it was the right idea.

I personally think the stick he gets isn't logical, he does a proper business job on the club.


I agree with most of this - PL definitely gets a lot of unfair stick.

However, I do think that he deserves some criticism for Ronnie Deila - who is widely regarded as being PLs "project" as much as DDs. It was obvious (I think) that Deila wasn't working out after the Malmo game and I think that DD (guided by PL) wasted far too much time on him - now the new manager will inherit a squad that has too many players (too many average players!).

PL is correct about being realistic. However, I hope (as someone has already pointed out) that he isn't preparing us for a seriously "underwhelming" new manager. I accept the we cannot match the EPL - so that may rule out Rodgers, MON or Moyes - however, if they try fobbing us off with Lennon or Stubbs or the guy from Leeds - then they will deserve the anger of the fans.

 

Invites family's of hillsborough victims then does a deal with the sun in the same week absoloutley disgusting

 

Hmmm think the fact we have a ton of money invested on average and * poor players who are sitting doing * all week after week is entirely his fault ? If not whos * fault is it ? We may or may not be in debt but one things for sure this aint a well run club in fact its very far from well run imo !!

 

Can't see anything disgraceful in that interview. Actually comes across as sincerely as something can through words on a screen, to me, anyway.

Times are tough.

 

With so many clubs in the EPL and SPL in financial strife he is right to be cautious. When we get or develop a good player they want away to the EPL or Europe, always encouraged by rapacious agents who are in it purely for the money.

With a declining income stream in Scotland and the rapidly declining fan base in Ireland ( where not supporting Celtic is now seen as cool and evidence of growing sophistication and maturity ) managing Celtic going forward is a difficult and thankless task.

He is not psychic, but youre spot on - he has Celtics best interests at heart.

 

Nobody is asking him to spend silly money ffs !! Fact is he's spent decent coin on a huge squad of crap , target 3or 4 players with a little extra quality to supplement the large amount of very average talent we already have and get rid of the rest asap !! Nobody is asking for him to spend huge money on superstars who wouldn't come here anyway !! Its really not rocket science , you pay peanuts you get monkeys !!

 

When he says we the fans don't know the detail around how the club is run, this should be rectified! If they have nothing to hide a member of the Celtic Trust should be invited to sit on the board!

We get times are tough, but greater transparency is required! Celtic FC is the supporters yet we have no say in the direction the club is taken. This needs to change!

 

Can someone put up his quote about the money being there for an 8 million pound player if it represented value for money? I've only got the phone down here and don't know how to copy and paste.

The man is a lying toe rag.

 

The only disgraceful thing is all the bolded text you have put in there. Control freak.

 

I actually agree with most of what he is saying.

His point on lack of transparency is why most of us are annoyed but he seems unwilling to rectify it - I.e. The last 16 season where we sold a lot of our squad Hooper, wanyama etc we had a net inflow of around £40m, I think the issue is that most of us would like to see how that was used as it certainly wasn't invested in players!