EVERYONE else has had their say on Celtic and how the club has been run in recent months. It’s time the man who actually pulls the strings at the Ladbrokes Premiership champions spoke directly to the supporters.
In a Herald Sport exclusive, Peter Lawwell meets with Neil Cameron to discuss wasteful spending at the club, his decision to invite critical supporters to Parkhead, his own future and his acceptance of the need for the team to raise standards and play an attractive game.
NC: Right, so who is the next Celtic manager?
PL: Aye, good one. That’s a good start.
NC: Okay, then. How have you found this season because there has been criticism from the media and supporters aimed at you?
PL: I think a lot of it comes from the press, to be fair. I don’t go on social media, but I do get feedback. Look, we have hundreds of thousands of supporters and it’s a very broad church. I respect all the views of all the fans. They are right to have views and opinions. What I would say is that, from the outside looking in, there will be things that don’t make sense. Decisions and moves won’t make sense. If I could get 60,000 in here to talk to them, that would be very helpful for them and for us.
What has happened over last four or five weeks is that we have had the associations and affiliations in and guys who have written sensible letters, good guys, maybe 40 of them. When you explain things to people, it makes a lot more sense and people become a lot more satisfied. I don’t think we can respond to bloggers. If you start that, you will never stop. I respect their views, but what I want to say is that everything the Celtic board does, including myself, every decision is made in the best interests of Celtic. That’s for sure. That is our commitment right there.
NC: There have been empty seats and some of the football hasn’t been up to, dare I say, Celtic standard this season. How has that made you feel?
PL: There are a lot of reasons for that. If you look at the product overall, and we are Celtic, we are expected to win the league and every game. We go into every match knowing we can only lose. It’s relief when you win and disaster when you lose. It is a very unusual circumstance when you play competitive sport. It isn’t a criticism, but other teams come here and they just sit in, put 10 men behind the ball and say: 'Come and get us, Celtic'. They don’t change. We have lost four games now. Aberdeen have done fantastically well, but it’s a season we are happy to come out of as champions and move on.
NC: Do you ever feel as if you can’t be bothered with the hassle? Maybe you have taken this job as far as you can go with it.
PL: You constantly look at your own situation. My focus at the moment is to get through the process of appointing a new manager and get some stability and that is my only priority.
NC: Much is made on social media about Rangers, the new and old club debate and what happened five years ago. There is also the Resolution 12 issue (Rangers being granted a license for the 2011/12 Champions League). What are your views on these matters?
PL: I respect everyone’s views and their right to have an opinion, but I have nothing more to say about that.
NC: Is it then time to look forward and concentrate on Celtic?
PL: I am not going to tell someone what to think and what to say. I wouldn't do that.
NC: Could the communication with supporters be better? When there are gaps in communication, fans can put two and two together and get 10.
PL: I actually think we are open. We want to communicate. It’s not just Celtic, although we are the biggest thing in Scotland, but so many clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Aston Villa get it (from fans). It’s not just about winning on the pitch. It’s football, it is in the public domain, and there is huge interest on social media, which the mainstream media pick up on. That is a phenomenon we have to accept and deal with. I don’t know if anyone has perfected a communication strategy. It is a complicated scene. Look, some of blogs on there, guys write things and they are so far from the truth, but it becomes factual for everyone else.
NC: Did you ever feel sorry for Ronny Deila when it appeared the world was on his shoulders?
PL: This time last year, we were feeling okay. We should have won the Treble. This season, the frustration Ronny felt himself is that we haven’t made the progress we would have liked to in terms of development. There is a slight conflict between development and win, win, win. I asked myself whether he was enjoying this because of the pressures of winning and that he was not getting out on the training ground to develop (the players) as he much as he should have. I felt, at times, he wasn’t enjoying it as much. I felt for him.
NC: How do you win back those fans who aren’t going to games?
PL: What we can do is play winning, entertaining football. Win the games, play the Celtic way, progress the club as far as we can and try to meet expectations and ambitions of the supporters in a difficult financial climate. I’m a Celtic supporter and I know what the supporters want to see on the pitch. We try to give them that. What I can’t do is overnight get us into the English Premier League, the Championship or whatever.
We play in Scotland, a country of five million people, and Celtic is by far the strongest club financially. We have the biggest budget by far, and what we can do is make the best from that budget.
NC: Should the budget have been spent better?
PL: That is a fair criticism; certainly in recent years. Overall, though, not many clubs have found as many players as we have who then went onto England for big money.
NC: Do you think the league is going to be fun next season? A lot of clubs seem to be improving.
PL: I agree with you. Aberdeen and Hearts will be stronger, Rangers will obviously be there. It will be exciting.
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