LOVE him or loathe him, it seems there is no way for Celtic to escape the name of Peter Lawwell. The former long-term chief executive may not officially be involved with the running of the club these days, but his influence is still keenly felt – for better or for worse.
So it was that the appointment of Lawwell’s son Mark this week as Celtic’s head of first-team scouting and recruitment was met with cynicism by more than a few, with his own credentials for the role coming secondary to the weight that is carried by his surname.
Celtic would argue of course that his surname carried little weight when it came to him landing the position, and manager Ange Postecoglou was keen to stress that it was his past working relationship with Lawwell, and his expertise, that are the key factors which are exciting him as they rekindle a partnership that paid off handsomely in the past for Yokohama F. Marinos.
Postecoglou acknowledges that Lawwell’s appointment may come up against a little prejudice before he gets up and running, but then again, so did his.
“All I saw was we were bringing in a person I saw was outstanding in his field,” Postecoglou said.
“We have a need for that here in terms of the gaps that exist in this football club off field. That was one of the areas we definitely needed to bring somebody; to manage the whole department.
“I just wanted to get the right person. And for me, and for Celtic supporters, Mark, like myself who wasn’t a popular pick to start with, will get judged on the work he does and I’m sure they’ll be super pleased once he gets up and running.
“I worked with Mark for three-and-a-half years. Obviously Yokahama [are] part of the City Group and Mark’s responsibility there was to help us on the recruitment side and transfers, particularly with overseas players.
“I worked really closely with him for almost four years and we worked really well together. He understood me, how I want my teams to play football, and identified the right type of players for me and we had great success at Yokahama.
“So when I came across here to Celtic, when we were talking about adding staff he was one person I was really keen on bringing across. But he was already working for a really good organisation in City Group and they were pretty keen to hold on to him, so I knew it wouldn’t be a simple task getting him across.
“So I’m absolutely delighted we’ve managed to bring him to the club and he’s going to be an outstanding asset for this football club because in that space - that area of recruitment, the ability to scout the right kind of players and the analytics behind it - he has been at the cutting edge working for one of the best organisations in the world at identifying players.
“To bring that skillset to our club is brilliant.”
In terms of immediate on-field matters, Postecoglou is again urging his men to turn on the style when they take on Hearts in the lunchtime kick-off at Celtic Park today, as he reiterated his desire for them to clinch the title in the manner by which they have now become associated.
“That’s why we are in this position now,” he said. “Not by grinding our way through, but by trying to play in a certain way and taking a real positive approach in every game we’ve played, and that needs to continue to the end.
“If we try and change or approach now, or tighten up in any way, we aren’t going to do ourselves justice. And what we want to show in these last three games is the best of ourselves and try and play the best football we can.
“We have got to just play well, win the game because we have played well, and see what develops from there.
“For me it isn’t about something being given to us. We have had to earn everything this year. We’ve got to earn the title and the way we do that is by getting enough points on the board that we can’t be caught. And until that point nothing will change in the way we think about the games or our focus.”
Postecoglou followed up his PFA Scotland Manager of the Year award this week by landing yet another Premiership Manager of the Month award yesterday – his fourth in succession.
Unsurprisingly though, his eyes remain focused on a much bigger prize.
“It’s good mate,” he said. “We’ve been really consistent since the break over the past few months to be in this position.
“[It’s been] great work by everyone involved and obviously it is pleasing to get these individual things, but ultimately it is about making sure we get the big one, mate.”
