OVER THE TOP
Lennon hits out at criticism of chief Lawwell
NEIL LENNON last night leapt to the defence of under-fire Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell.
Lawwell has borne the brunt of supporter anger over last week’s Champions League qualifying exit to Romanian champions Cluj.
Accused of hoarding cash instead of spending it on players, a banner held aloft by the Green Brigade ultras group before the Betfred Cup win over Dunfermline claimed boardroom downsizing risked blowing the Parkhead club’s bid for a record ten titles in a row.
Speaking before the first leg of his side’s Europa League play-off with Swedes AIK in Glasgow, however, Lennon insisted much of the criticism of his boss was out of order.
‘It’s very unfair,’ said the Celtic manager. ‘I think it’s totally imbalanced. He (Lawwell) has presided over eight league titles in a row and three Trebles and we’ve been in the last 16 (in Europe) a few times as well over the piece — so it’s probably as good a period as the club has had for a long, long time.’
Lawwell has also been criticised for the size of his salary and bonus when supporters believe the club
should be throwing bank reserves of £30million and the £25m raked in from Arsenal for Kieran Tierney at quality players. But Lennon added: ‘I can’t comment on that. 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. ‘I know he puts the club first and the future of the club, at all times. There has to be a sense of perspective. ‘There has been a little bit of hysteria at times. That is the environment you’re in in Glasgow sometimes. ‘We lost one game and scored three in it, so it’s not all doom and gloom.’ After being benched for the shock 4-3 home defeat to Cluj, Boli Bolingoli and Christopher Jullien will start against AIK tonight, with Kristoffer Ajer likely to move to right-back if Hatem Abd Elhamed fails to recover from a training-ground knock. Jozo Simunovic is expected to be fit after an ankle injury. Meanwhile, as Sportsmail first revealed, the Parkhead side have resurrected their bid to sign Norwegian right-back Omar Elabdellaoui from Olympiakos for £4m. Celtic have also confirmed a threeyear deal for 19-year-old winger Jonathan Ofalabi. Kilmarnock want Jack Hendry on loan and the defender could be used as a makeweight in any deal for Rugby Park left-back Greg Taylor.