Lawwell’s European dream

The timing couldn’t be bettered, the stage couldn’t be larger- the result was incredible.

Celtic’s 2-1 win over Barcelona couldn’t have been better scripted showcasing the club worldwide inflicting the first defeat of the season on the Catalans.

Worldwide there was interest on how a historical club from a footballing backwater could put one over on the most celebrated club in the business.

As a fan Peter Lawwell loved it, as a businessman it provided the club with the perfect opportunity to showcase the magic of Celtic to a whole new audience.

Away from the humdrum surroundings of the SPL Celtic found themselves on the big stage- and struck gold wih a night of magic rounded off by the wining goal scored by local teenager Tony Watt.

“A big frustration for me is we don’t have a regular platform to tell the Celtic story around the world,”Lawwell explained in The Sun. “It’s a magnificent story: rich, unique and magical. This year we got the chance to tell it — and we didn’t miss the opportunity.

“The boys got the results in Europe and people were intrigued about Celtic. How could this club, with this budget, from this nation, do what they did?

“From our point of view, it’s been a magnificent season. The Champions League campaign was magical.

“For a club from Scotland with the challenges we have, to perform the way we did and create the excitement we did throughout the world — the interest was phenomenal. Our club got fantastic exposure and profile off the back of it.”

Lawwell added: “There was huge interest in Europe and it was brilliant to win the league as we start off two in a row. That gives us a platform to go on and we are greedy.

“We want to win the SPL as many times as we can to get into the Champions League and have those experiences again. There’s real energy and ambition.

“This season has given us a platform to do these sorts of things and take the club forward, but it’s a challenge and we all have to do our jobs.

“We all have to make sure we keep pushing and pushing to take the club forward. It’s been an extraordinary year. It was an extraordinary summer last year and nobody could have predicted what we’d deal with, on and off the park.”