When Tony Mowbray left on the 25th March 2010; Celtic were in a state that hadn't been seen since the inept management mentor duo of John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish. With Neil Lennon coming in as an interim manager all was up in the air at the club; patience had run out for a fanbase that is famous the world over for its loyalty and wears the chant 'Faithful Through and Through' as a badge of honour.

Everywhere Celtic fans looked, it looked bleak. The only bright spots during the campaign being the brilliance of Robbie Keane (who all but the most optimistic Celtic fan knew wasn't going to stay in the summer), the trickery of Aiden McGeady and the sensational saves of Artur Boruc.

The departure of the three bright spots from the season before left a cloud over the clubs head, how would we react? How would the team react?

Thinking back to those dark days it's very hard to believe the position that we are now in.

Celtic now have a unique opportunity that we have never before encountered in our history. The mentality has shifted, we are operating under a brilliant structure, managed by people who know Celtic inside out, who have Celtic's best interests at heart and will do everything in their power possible to make us successful under our own merit.

This has largely been down to the brilliance of three men and their supporting cast:

First of all is the much maligned Peter Lawwell, he has been labelled many things in his Celtic career, tight, a genius, a conspiracy mastermind (this being most humorous among them.)

When Peter Lawwell first took up his role in September 2003 few could have foresaw that he would become one of the most pivotal men in Celtic's history.


Peter Lawwell has been a steady influence on the club

Under Lawwell's tenure he has taken us from being debt laden and with an over the top wage bill to a highly streamed financial machine, absolutely every penny is controlled in Celtic Park. He is the man who makes sure there is no frivolous spending, he is the man who has made sure that every penny generated by the club has went back into the club. Under his leadership Celtic have built a brand new state of the art training centre and youth academy that is just now beginning to bear fruit for the first team.

Celtic fans have had many problems with him but it is undeniable, in his tenure, Celtic have had one of the most successful periods in their history.

The second man who needs a massive amount of credit for the position that we find ourselves in is one that is often overlooked by those who are not too deeply interested in Celtic. He is often lauded as a genius and we have genuinely been fortunate to hold onto him. John Park has completely revolutionised the way Celtic scout and purchase their players, a man who is closely trusted by Neil Lennon and the coaching stuff.


John Park - Celtic Chief Scout

Under the careful and meticulous eyes of John Park, Celtic have went on to sign players like Victor Wanyama, Efe Ambrose, Virgil Van Dijk, Beram Kayal and Emilio Izaguirre amongst many more. He has shown a habit of being able to pluck players with the basis of very good players, out of unfashionable leagues that we can exploit, an absolute priceless ability in the environment of Scottish Football, where money is tighter than most.

Last, but by far not least, is Neil Lennon. A rookie manager, taking up a massive job before he had cut his teeth, a man who in his time at Celtic has suffered through sectarian abuse, death threats and bombs. It cannot be argued that Neil Lennon has suffered more than many others due to the team that he loves, a quietly spoken, intelligent man off the field you can see the passion that he has for the team. Under his management we have now went on to win 2 league titles and 2 Scottish Cups.


Neil Lennon - a man who can be considered a Celtic Great

However, it is in Europe that Neil has shown himself invaluable. With a stunning 17 victories and 5 draws out of 33 European games he has truly cemented himself as one of the brightest young managers in the footballing world. Reaching the Last 16 of the Champions League being a true masterstroke.

These three men are primarily responsible for where we are now, Celtic as a club can now look very optimistically into the future, with long term rivals Rangers liquidated, the domestic campaigns are almost a guarantee. The European Campaigns that Celtic are now undertaking are the key.


Tony Watt wheels away upon putting Celtic 2-0 up against Catalan Giants Barcelona.

Consistently competing in Europe's premier footballing competition lets Celtic access riches previously unseen in the Scottish Football Landscape.

This is a time for all Celtic fans to be able to look to the future, with genuine glee that we are once again on the verge of realising the dream of becoming a European force. Under the watchful eye of Peter Lawwell, the tactical brilliance of Neil Lennon and John Park working tirelessly away in the background the future is bright for Celtic Football Club. Sure, there will be bumps along the way (the 1-0 defeat in Amsterdam being one of them) but the future is bright, the future is Green and White. ​