PETER Lawwell, the Celtic chief executive, has launched a thinly-veiled attack on Alan McRae and Rod Petrie, the SFA president and vice president respectively, and called for others to be handed greater power at the governing body in a radical shake-up.
Lawwell was speaking publicly for the first time since Stewart Regan stood down as SFA chief executive after eight years in charge last week following an outcry over the failure to appoint Michael O’Neill as Scotland manager and the decision to take on end-of-season friendlies against Peru and Mexico.
He stated that “others who have presided over the SFA for a number of years”, a clear reference to both McRae and Petrie, also needed to accept responsibility for the failings of the beleaguered organisation and suggested that board members Gary Hughes, Ian Maxwell, Mike Mulraney and Ana Stewart to be given more influence.
In an interview with BBC Radio Scotland, the Scottish champions’ senior official expressed the view that the SFA must undergo a wide-ranging overhaul of its structure and re-evaluate what its purpose in the modern game following a series of damaging high-profile controversies and failures.
“I came off the board a couple of years ago there,” said Lawwell. “From the outside looking in, clearly there are problems and the problems appear to be significant.
“It seems that Stewart Regan has taken the rap for that in terms of the changes over the last couple of weeks. I think there are others in there who have presided over the SFA for a number of years who really need to look at themselves just now as well.
“I don’t think it’s worth or there is any value in personalising it, but clearly there are issues which need to be addressed.
“But on the other hand I think there are positives because I think you have a board there with very capable people in Mike Mulraney, who represents the clubs, along-side Ian Maxwell and you have independent non-executives in Gary Hughes and Ana Stewart, who are capable people.
“I think it is now time for these guys to be given their head and maybe be given a bit more authority to actually understand what is the purpose of the SFA and how does that relate to the SPFL and the clubs. I think there should be a process of restructuring and reorganising that allows the SFA to be fit for that purpose.
“There are a lot of good staff at the SFA and we engage with them. There are a lot of good people so that is another positive. For me, there is an opportunity for everybody to sit down, look at what they should be doing, look at what’s gone wrong, learn lessons and move on.”
Lawwell was speaking the day after Celtic published interim financial results which showed they increased their revenue by 17 per cent to £71.5 million in the last six months of 2017 and had £31 million in the bank.
“The balance sheet is probably the strongest it has been in the club’s history,” he told the BBC. “That allows us to plan for the future, it allows us to invest in the squad and also the infrastructure around Celtic Park. We are looking at a proposition of building a hotel and a new museum complex. No decision has been made on that, but it gives us the option.
“Football can be very volatile, very unpredictable, but I think we now have a solid base that allows us to take on the challenges that football presents. We are in quite good financial shape.
“But, again, you can’t be complacent. You can’t be complacent on the pitch in terms of success and you can’t be complacent off the pitch. If that does happen, you be-come too complacent, then you know which way it will go.”
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