Board has no contempt for supporters, says Lawwell

Celtic chief executive Peter Law well has rebuffed claims from disgruntled fans that the club’s board have shown “contempt” for them in an inter view screened at the club’s virtually held AGM.

Acknowledging the “frustrations” of a support now demanding board room change above a change of football manager, Lawwell also made a stirring defence of Neil Lennon in the Celtic TV produced video.

He said the Irishman was “the right man for the job in February 2019… and is the right man for it now”.

Questioned about the unrest that has brought protests for three successful Sundays outside Celtic Park, he said: “I can fully understand it. We are all Celtc supporters here too. I can understand the frustration.

“I’m a Celtic supporter myself. Born a Celtic supporter, I will die a Celtic supporter. My family are all Celtic supporters, so I get it and we understand it. What we are seeing in today’s world, and the social media world, that the board are holding the fans in contempt, they [the board] are suggesting they [fans] are entitled... it can get a wee bit over the top, I must say. But what I can say is the support we’ve had over the summer, the supporters’ commitment to this club has been inspiring, nothing

short of remarkable. And we thank them hugely for that.”

"As always, our duty and responsibility is to do the right thing for Celtic. We have no other agenda, no other purpose or motive, other than to make the right decisions that will take us forward.

"We haven’t given up [on the league] in this big year. There are circumstances that have put us in this position. And we will go and do ever ything we can to get the league this year.” Lawwell appeared particularly irked by the oft-stated claim that the board’s complacency has allowed Rangers to appear in position to knock them off their perch in Scottish football. “That’s not the case [that we’ve been asleep at the wheel”, he said. “We have won the tre - ble treble and could win the quadruple treble. Incredible domestic success.

"Despite that, in the summer, we strengthened the squad, knowing there was going to be a challenge this year, to a level that we haven’t done before and come out of the window with a very strong squad and we had spent as a club, over the previous 14 months - from July 2019 to that point[ October 2020], £35 m. We have never spent anything like that in the past. “We have strengthened, and we have kept all our big players. That’s not complacency.

“We prepared by having reserves in the club, some of which were affected by the pandemic, but those reserves were invested into the team to make us stronger. We had a manager that deliver son a track record, and in addition we continually invest more and more into our football functions: our sports science, analysis, performance, recruitment.” A similarly robust response was given by Lawwell over the continued backing for Lennon. “I do [see Neil Lennon is the right man to lead Celtic],” he said. “Neil’s credentials as a

Celtic man are there for everybody to see. His credentials as a football manager are there for everybody to see.

"He has the players, and the trust and confidenc e of the players, and the trust and confidence of his backroom team and we believe, at this particular time, that he is the best man to tr y and recover this deficit in the league and get us on to 10-in-a-row.”