Don’t Sell Him Short – Former Celt’s £8million Warning to Peter Lawwell

Former Celtic defender Mark Wilson has called out Peter Lawwell and challenged him to back Neil Lennon properly in the transfer market after the chief executive appointed the Irishman at the end of the season.

We have no indication yet what Neil’s financial backing will be when it comes to acquisitions but Wilson wants to see Lennon get as much money as a Rafa Benitez or Brendan Rodgers would in the role. There’s a perception out there the Lurgan man will just be grateful to be in the job again and Lawwell can chuck very little at him in order for Lennon to be satisfied.

Celtic fans are desperate to see their treble treble winning team be improved so they can look forward to more success in the near future. The team is very tired and needs a spark and player turnover.

Wilson has told RecordSport that giving the new manager £8million or so for new recruits would be a slap in the face when the bhoys need more than that to rejuvenate.

“Now that Peter has given the job to Lenny, he has to give him a fair crack at it.

“By that I mean, give him the same chance he would have given Brendan Rodgers or Rafa Benitez or David Moyes.

“These guys wouldn’t have settled for half rations on a budget for players.

“You can’t say just because Neil’s a Celtic man, he’s been here before, he loves the club, all that stuff, that you can sell him short with, say, £8million to beef up the squad.

“It has to be an awful lot more than that, considering how many positions they need to fill.

“It’s going to take a chunk of cash. He needs centre-halves, a striker, a right back, cover at left back.

“Every good squad has a cycle. You can’t keep winning without freshening up and Neil has proven in the past he can find a quality player or two.

“You can trust him with a transfer kitty, and with nine and maybe 10 coming up, Peter has to be aware of what the fans will expect.

“Rangers have progressed over the last year. They made their intentions clear even at Christmas by shelling out big wages for the likes of Jermain Defoe and Steven Davis, so you have to wonder what they’ll do in the summer.

“I don’t think Celtic need to go overboard but they do need to invest.”