Neil Lennon has revealed the extent of the financial straight jacket he’s had to work under since becoming Celtic manager.
After taking over from Tony Mowbray in June 2010 Lennon had to build a team from the sale of Aiden McGeady.
Celtic were scorned for turning to Israel, Honduras and Mexico for new signings and building a strike force around players from Hibs and Scunthorpe.
Across the city Walter Smith was able to splash the cash signing former England striker James Beattie from Stoke City and securing Nikica Jelavic for £4m from Rapid Vienna.
Battling against the odds Celtic finished the season one point behind Rangers as Smith celebrated his send off parading the SPL trophy around Rugby Park flanked by Beattie, Jelavic and other big money signings such as Steve Davis, Maurice Edu and Kyle Lafferty.
The events of the last seven days will never be forgotten with Mr Lennon looking on as intently as any other Celtic fan as the tide turned his way.
By the time Rangers next play, on Sunday away to Inverness, Celtic could be 23 points ahead with Lennon stunned by the pace of recent events.
“My first emotion was disbelief that a club of that stature could fall into administration,” the hoops boss admitted. “You knew it was coming but you never really believe it until it happens. It has been interesting watching the fall out since then.
“People say it is none of my business but I have a vested interest because I am manager of their biggest rival and what is happening at Rangers will have an impact on Scottish football.”
“We’ve cut our cloth accordingly and it hurt. We had to bite the bullet on quite a few occasions and it was the right thing to do.
“Nobody really saw the recession coming. It has bitten in to society in more ways than anyone could imagine, but this club has been prepared, better than any other club in Scotland.
“There have been instances when the board has said: ‘No further, no more money’. Before my time as manager there was an interest in Nikica Jelavic.
“However, the club didn’t want to pay the kind of money that was being asked.
“Even in the window just past we looked at English players and it was a case of ‘too much money’. We’re not prepared to pay above the odds because we don’t want to disturb the wage structure we have here.
“We’ve just thought: ‘Right, we’ll get on with what we’ve got then’. Sometimes you must get players out to get others in but it isn’t always possible. That’s the financial situation in which we work.
“It can be frustrating because you’d always like a bit more quality but I’m really happy with what we’ve got.”
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I still think we have too many players …
Not only is it a drain on the wage bill….
it’s a de-motivator for players who are on the fringes and for young guys like McGeouch ..who come in… make a marvellous impression…then disappear.
I know I’m going to get the argument about suspensions/ injuries etc; and up to a point there’s no argument…but seriously….
Count the number of players who were bought for first-team duties…it’s frightening…
We have at least 5 right backs who fall into that category for starters…
I honestly don’t know how we afford them all.
You’re right Mike, there’s a lot of deadwood at the club and I think everybody, Neil Lennon included, would agree. I think there’ll be a lot out the door at the end of the season and not many coming in. I reckon if he’s able to keep the core of the team intact then we’ll prosper.
The way things are going on the other side of the city, we’ll be able to afford youngsters to come into the team and get a run of games and this is one of the benefits I see of a weak Rangers. The media will have you believe that it’s a bad thing if there’s a weak Rangers but I disagree. Celtic will get the chance to play youngsters, as will a lot of other teams I’m the league and our dependence on costly foreign imports will decrease. It might take a lot of the money out of the game but it’s a sport first and foremost, not a business, and this is a great chance to start again from scratch.
While it is obvious we have too many players currently..it should also be noted that clubs such as Udinese have something like THIRTY players out on loan to various clubs. For the most part, others will be paying their wages, gaining experience and putting them in the shop window.
Not all our squad players are going to be snapped up unfortunately which just means we should be a bit more selective. At least one of our main competitors is now out of the running. As regards our interest at the time in Jelavic, I honestly thought he would be a great addition for us….money in the bank and certain we would have banked much more than Rangers got as clubs knew they had to sell. I’d always be prepared to chase one blue chip player as not every bargain signing will turn out to be full value.
Get this title wrapped up and set the young guns loose, they need more experience. I’ve said it before, only the title is true success for the club. The domestic cups are fixture fillers and should be used to blood the younger guys much more or get them out on loan at a decent level.