Lennon warns the Celtic fans to lay off Lawwell
NEIL LENNON last night branded the criticism that has been directed at Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell in the aftermath of the Champions League exit to CFR Cluj last week as “very unfair”.
The Parkhead director has borne the brunt of the fallout from the bitterly disappointing 4-3 loss the Glasgow club suffered at home in the second leg of the third qualifying round last Tuesday night.
Ultras group The Green Brigade unfurled banners which accused directors of “downsizing” and “gambling 10-in-a-row” before the Betfred Cup game against Dunfermline at Celtic Park on Saturday.
However, Lennon, whose side take on AIK Stockholm in the first leg of their Europa League play-off in the East End tonight, leapt to the defence of Lawwell and insisted he had been satisfied with the financial backing he has received this summer.
Asked about the abuse the Celtic chief executive has been subjected to, he said: “It’s very unfair. I think it’s totally imbalanced. He’s presided over eight leagues in a row and three trebles and we’ve been in the last 16 [of the Champions League] a few times as well over the piece. So it’s probably as good a time as the club has had for a long, long time.”
Many fans are unhappy at the amount of money Lennon, who has spent £7m on Christopher Jullien and £3.5m on Boli Bolingoli in the close season, has received from the board.
The last annual accounts the triple Treble winners published showed they had £27m cash reserves in the bank and some supporters feel more could have been spent on new recruits.
“I can’t comment on that,” said Lennon. “I’m not aware of how much money there is, but he [Lawwell] does what’s best for the club and he always has done, maybe to the detriment of himself sometimes. I know he puts the club first and the future of the club, at all times.”
Lennon also defended the work carried out during the close season by Nicky Hammond, who replaced head of recruitment Lee Congerton “for the summer period” at the start of July.
“Everything is not as cut in stone as people want it to be,” he said. “It’s just not that simple. Nicky is not just going to build it for the short term, but have a recruitment structure for the longer term. There is a bit of a void there since Lee left. But, again, we are over-analysing the recruitment side of things. Some of it has worked, some of it hasn’t worked and that happens in football.
“It’s not the be-all and end-all. At the end of the day I think if we go out tomorrow night, play well and put on a positive performance things change very quickly again. That’s my whole concentration at the minute, while obviously we are working away in the background trying to get players in.”
In team news, Lennon said rightback Hatem Elhamed suffered a hip injury in training and is a doubt for tonight’s match, but he is hopeful Kristoffer Ajer and Jozo Simunovic will be fit. Scott Bain is set to be out for a month after dislocating his thumb.