Keith Jackson has described Peter Lawwell’s reign at Celtic as bordering on control freakery.
Next Monday Dom McKay joins Celtic, working in tandem with Lawwell before taking sole control on July 1.
Lawwell’s title is Chief Executive Officer but there is little doubt that he has almost total control of every aspect of the club, there is little evidence of him delegating powers down the chain of command.
The most obvious sign of control was when Neil Lennon returned as manager in May 2019. Having previously brought in Johan Mjallby, Alan Thompson and Gary Parker, second time around Lennon wasn’t allowed to appoint any assistants.
Even after delivering a treble in season 2019/20, when Damien Duff left the club brought in Gavin Strachan without any known connection or input from the first team manager.
Replacing Lennon seems to have become a troublin issue, seven weeks after the Irishman resigned there is no sign of a successor. Speculation had Eddie Howe almost over the line a week ago but in midweek his agent poured cold water on that notion with the former Bournemouth boss apparently in no rush to return to management.
Describing the issues facing Howe or the incoming manager, Jackson explains:
On the one hand, for example, there’s the upcoming departure of Peter Lawwell from the chief executive’s office after almost two decades in control. The loss of Lawwell’s iron fisted leadership adds to the sense of uncertainty around Parkhead.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Lawwell has been a titan throughout his time but this has manifested itself in a culture which can, from time to time, border on control freakery. He’s not just the chief executive, he’s also the head accountant and director of football all rolled into one.
That’s what led to Brendan Rodgers upping sticks for Leicester City so Howe may see an upside to Lawwell’s decision to call it quits at this precise moment even if it does leave a massive hole in Celtic’s command room.
Last year, in his only newspaper interview Lawwell spoke to Jackson about his hopes to have fans inside Celtic Park for a test event before the start of the SPFL season in August. No fan has been inside Celtic Park since March last year.