Finance guru, Kieran Maguire has raved about new Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell.
Speaking to Football Insider, Maguire described him as a ‘safe pair of hands’ and claims he was ‘underappreciated’ in his previous stint with the club as Chief Executive.
Celtic announced Lawwell as the club’s chairman a couple of weeks ago and will take charge at the start of January 2023.
Maguire claims that this is an area that a number of sides in Scotland, including rivals Rangers are looking to ‘catch up’ to the levels of Celtic.
Maguire stated, “Peter Lawwell was always seen as a safe pair of hands,
“He was well remunerated for that but he delivered in the sense that the club has a financial advantage over every other club in Scotland.
“What’s more, that is true both in terms of its matchday income and commercial revenues as well.
“This is an area where clubs, especially Rangers, are trying to catch up.
“Lawwell coming back is indicative that he was underappreciated in certain areas of the club. Now they realise just what a significant contribution he made, hence this dramatic decision to bring him back.”
TIF’s view on Maguire’s comments…
We believe that the appointment of Lawwell seems to be a bit of a sideways appointment. The former Chief Executive didn’t warm himself to some Celtic fans whilst working for the club.
A number of Celtic fans were left fuming with Lawwell after the club travelled to Dubai for a training camp in January 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The club released a statement where Lawwell gave a video apology for the decision. Having said that, he spent the majority of it trying to justify his decision as opposed to just outright apologising.
How the fans react to these decisions speaks volumes. These are people who in many cases have followed the Hoops for decades and want the best for their club.
In many ways it’s a second chance for Lawwell to right any wrongs he may have done in the past. If the club can back current boss, Ange Postecoglou, then that’s definitely a step in the right direction in winning the fans back.