McAvennie: This is where ‘silly’ Lawwell got it wrong for 18 years at Celtic
Frank McAvennie has pointed the finger at Peter Lawwell’s wait-and-see recruitment strategy after the Celtic chief executive announced his retirement.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the Parkhead legend blasted the 61-year-old’s “silly” policy during his 18-year reign of holding back on signing players until European qualification was determined.
The club announced on 29 January that Peter Lawwell had taken the decision to retire from his position at the end of the season.
He has held the role of chief executive for 17 years having succeeded Ian McLeod in 2003.
McAvennie praised Lawwell’s policy of investing in young players but questioned his decision to repeatedly make signings late in the summer window.
“I have not got a problem with Peter even though there is a lot of things he has done wrong,” he told Football Insider.
“I am a great believer in getting players as early as possible, before the season starts.
“Instead he would wait and see if we made it into Europe but that is silly. You need those signings through the door to get you through the qualifying ties.
“You should bring them in before pre-season if possible. Do not bring them in after pre-season. If Peter had a fault, that was it, not buying players quick enough.
“He has tried to bring players in that the club can make a profit on. When John Park was there they did that very successfully. You look at the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Moussa Dembele and Victor Wanyama – these are good players.”
In other news, Alan Hutton backs Craig Gordon’s claim that Celtic could stay miles behind Rangers for years.