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Peter Lawwell’s admission to Celtic’s finances will make the rest of the SPFL “laugh”, a boss.
The Premiership champions held their general assembly on Wednesday. One of the topics of conversation is Brendan Rodgers’ team and their ability to compete in the Champions League. Lawwell and the manager insisted they had competed this season despite finishing with one point from four games in an organization with Atletico Madrid, Lazio and Feyenoord.
The Celtic chairman’s confessions that the money hole is widening in the most sensible part of Europe have caught the attention of Clyde boss Ian McCall, who insists the other 41 professional clubs will laugh at a case of change on the continent. He told the BBC: “I don’t think that’s the case (just in terms of Celtic’s Champions League finances), I don’t think that’s the case. I mean, if the monetary difference is like our Scottish Premiership – like a Motherwell going to Celtic Park – that monetary difference is just huge, pretty huge.
“I don’t think that excuses Celtic from competing with certain clubs. You get to the circle of 16 and I think at most others will give you 10 clubs that will be in the knockout stages of the Champions League. It’s pretty straightforward waiting now.
“But from an organisational level, against players like Feyenoord (you saw what Copenhagen did against Manchester United), you can definitely compete at this level. I think the argument goes like this: if Celtic have more financial resources to play in the Europa League and win it compared to the Champions League, that’s a no-brainer, of course.
“But if Celtic enthusiasts need Brendan and Peter Lawwell to spend £15 to £25 million on a player, then, as you know, that’s not going to happen. But you’re right, there will be plenty of other people in Scottish Football who will laugh at those comments because of what they face every week. “