Delighted Lawwell shuns comparisons

CELTIC chief executive Peter Lawwell insists comparing the current Hoops team with great sides of the past is futile.

Gordon Strachan’s men beat Manchester United on Tuesday to progress to the Champions League knockout stages for the first time.

After midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura scored the only goal of the game with a 25-yard free-kick, the win over the Old Trafford side drew immediate parallels with the Celtic team which beat Leeds in both legs of the European Cup semi-final in 1970.

But the Celtic chief executive believes the changing nature of the game means such comparisons are tough to gauge.

Lawwell said: “It is difficult to compare. That win took us through to the European Cup final. Last night, we faced a magnificent Manchester United side – one of the best teams in the world. They showed their true quality in the first half so it was a different sort of game and we just dug in and saw it through. In terms of satisfaction, it is just fantastic.”

But Lawwell applauded manager Strachan for his achievement. The ex-Southampton and Coventry boss suffered a nightmare start to his Celtic Park career with the 5-0 defeat by Artmedia Bratislava in the second qualifying round of the competition last season.

However, since then, Strachan has lifted the Bank of Scotland Premier League trophy with a 17-point margin and the CIS Insurance Cup. And the Hoops are currently 15 points clear at the top of the table.

Lawwell added: “It will take a little while for all of us to come to grips with what happened last night. It was truly historic and a fantastic evening for everybody associated with Celtic. I am particularly delighted for Gordon – what a night it was for him to win such a vital match.

“I did not think anything would rival the fans at the Benfica game, but they did, and, maybe, even surpassed it. They were absolutely magnificent and the atmosphere was as good as I have seen it.”

Strachan’s reward for guiding the club into the last 16 of the tournament is set to be an increased transfer kitty when the January window opens.

Celtic’s share price has risen by 15% the day after the win over United and the result could be worth millions in prize money, gate receipts, television and sponsorship deals – sending shares in the Glasgow club to their highest level since March.

But Lawwell insists the financial windfall involved in reaching the last 16 of UEFA’s premier tournament can wait while the fans continue to savour the achievement.

Lawwell said: “It is not insignificant, moving forward, but last night was all about the football and giving the fans something they have been waiting for for such a long time. We have had many really close attempts at it and some very sad exits at the very last minute.”

He added: “We have stabilised the club to some extent without compromising the quality – we have a very strong and high-quality squad. But Gordon knows what his budgets are and we were hoping to strengthen in January in any case, despite what happened last night.

“We are always looking to increase the quality in the squad and we now have the foundation which will allow us to do that.”