IT’S ALL YOURS
Lawwell to hand Euro war chest to Rodgers
PETER LAWWELL last night pledged to give Brendan Rodgers the ongoing financial backing to turn Celtic into Champions League regulars again.
The Scottish champions yesterday learned that their reward for making the group stage for the first time in three years is a section containing Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Rodgers, who first takes his side to the Nou Camp immediately after playing Rangers two weeks tomorrow, secured a bounty of between £22-£30million by edging out Hapoel Be’er Sheva on Tuesday.
And chief executive Lawwell insisted that the record proceeds from the campaign would be handed to his manager in order to increase the chances of being in the hat again a year from now, with Sportsmail revealing this week how Rodgers is already stepping up efforts to take Everton’s James McCarthy on loan.
‘The policy of the board is that everything that comes into the club will be reinvested back into the club,’ said Lawwell.
‘That doesn’t mean to say we’re going
to spend £18m between now and next Wednesday — that’s over a period of time.
‘There are years when you make money and years when you lose money.
‘Just look at our accounts — we will reinvest everything that comes in back into the football side. That’s clear.
‘Whether it’s wages, management or transfers — that’s a commitment that we’ve given.
‘The plan is to dominate in Scotland — to win the league which gives you the passage to the qualifiers and to be in the Champions League every year. That’s the challenge.’
Rodgers has become the first Celtic manager in the Champions League era to lead Celtic to the business end of the competition at the first time of asking.
Despite only signing four players to date, he has managed to take a side that twice failed under Ronny Deila into the world’s most lucrative club competition.
‘I’m delighted with how things have gone so far. It’s remarkable what’s happened in just a few months,’ added Lawwell.
‘When you think we only came back on June 22 and only two months later we’re in the group stage, that’s quite something.
‘We had very tricky qualifying games, we’ve played in the ICC (International Champions Cup), had our training camp and brought in some new players.
‘To do all of that and prepare at the same time to compete in the biggest games of the season and be successful is remarkable.
‘He’s an outstanding manager. His pedigree shows you that. Brendan, Chris (Davies), Glen (Driscoll) and John Kennedy have all worked so well together so we’re delighted.’
After the trip to Barcelona on September 13, Celtic entertain Manchester City on September 28 and Borussia Monchengladbach on October 19.
Rodgers’ side then travel to Germany for the return fixture against the Bundesliga side on November 1. They host Barcelona on November 23 before facing Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad Stadium on December 6.
‘It’s a fantastic draw. Just fantastic. There are real glamour ties in there,’ said Lawwell. ‘Barcelona takes you back to when we beat them in 2012-13 — we’ve got a great relationship with them and we’re really looking forward to seeing them and playing them again.
‘We’ve also got a great relationship with Manchester City although we’ll be playing them for the first time.
‘They are just terrific ties to bring back to Glasgow.
‘It’s where we should be and where we want to be. Although we get a lot out of the tournament, I think the tournament gets a lot out of us as well in terms of what we bring to it.’
Patrick Roberts, on loan at Celtic from Manchester City, will be allowed to feature against his parent club.
Last night, City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain confirmed: ‘Yes, why not? Our target is to make him a better player and to play in games such as this, so we will see.’
Meanwhile, UEFA will today clarify possible changes to the route future Scottish champions may have to negotiate if they are to make the group stage.