It’s been awful- Hartson makes plea to Nicholson

John Hartson has pleaded with the Celtic board to release the cash to improve on Celtic’s awful European record.

Wining their next two home matches would go a long way towards securing the SPFL title and with it around £40m from being involved in the new look Champions League.

Eight matches rather than six in the new format with bring a freshness but after finishing bottom of their group for the last two seasons Hartson knows that the football side has to improve as well as the balance sheet.

Celtic have been piling up the cash over the last two seasons but last summer’s ‘recruitment’ drive left the squad short changed with only Luis Palma of the new arrivals making a meaningful contribution to the Champions League.

Ironically, in a dead rubber Gus Lagerbielke cam off the bench to head a winning goal against Feyenoord to provide Celtic with their first home win in that competition for 10 years.

Hartson was at the centre of a Celtic side that was respected across Europe, looking forward to the summer he told the Daily Record:

If they win the league all that (inconsistency) will be forgotten about. They’ll get £40million Champions League money and that would allow Brendan to bring in some players.

It’s important the Celtic board backs Brendan this summer and I think they will. They all saw the disappointing Champions League campaign. I’m not saying they go and spend £10million on a player because that’s not really Celtic’s way.

But I still expect the board to back Brendan – I think they have to. They need to help him get to the second phase of the Champions League because in recent years it’s been awful, it really, really has.

In 2001 Celtic paid Coventry City £6m to sign Hartson, of the current Celtic squad only Cameron Carter-Vickers cost the same amount.