Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell has said that “people are maybe overstating” the amount of work the club will have to do this summer to maintain their consistency next season.
There have been continued reports that there will be a clear-out at Parkhead in the coming months, with Dedryck Boyata’s departure to Hertha Berlin potentially being followed by the exits of – among others – Mikael Lustig and Cristian Gamboa.
Having completed the treble-treble with victory over Hearts in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday and confirmed Neil Lennon’s future, the Hoops are aiming to bring in new players while keeping the same level of quality shown in the last three seasons.
Speaking to The Scotsman, however, Lawwell insisted that it may not take a squad overhaul in order to achieve this objective.
“We still have a core of a lot of good players,” the chief executive said. “I think people are maybe overestimating what we need to do or overstating it.
“But we understand that we need to be better, we need to be stronger and that will be our intention in the summer. We won’t stand still. Listen, we’re not dependent on another club, we’re independent.
“We want to make Celtic as best as it possibly can be. That’s our desire, it’s our need and that’s what we’re going to do.”
OPINION
Regardless of whether Celtic are set to bring in a whole host of new players or not, it is still going to be a massive summer for the club. Having completed the treble treble at Hampden Park, they cannot let this level of consistency slip because if they do, there will be uproar from Hoops fans. There is no doubt that Steven Gerrard has big things planned at Rangers in the coming months and Lawwell and co must keep pace with the Ibrox club. While there were a decent number of points between the two clubs last season, you can bet that Gerrard will improve his side again this term and could close the gap next term. Therefore, Celtic must do the right thing and get their own players in. Neil Lennon has a great eye for a player having brought in the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Kris Commons while at Celtic, and he must work wonders of such ilk again to keep his side up there.