Hugh Keevins has taken last weekend’s derby defeat and spun it into a moment of opportunity for Celtic—insisting it should serve as a wake-up call for those behind the scenes at Parkhead when it comes to summer recruitment.
The veteran pundit believes the 3-2 loss to Rangers exposed the lack of strength in depth at Brendan Rodgers’ disposal, and it’s time for some serious action in the transfer market.
Keevins was particularly pointed in his call for improvement, though he took the opportunity to clear up any lingering fan theories about the role of chairman Peter Lawwell in the club’s transfer dealings.
In his Daily Record column, Keevins revealed that Lawwell personally phoned him early one Sunday morning to rebuke the suggestion that he was involved in player recruitment.
While putting that matter to bed, Keevins didn’t let the club’s recruitment team off the hook.
“The weekend defeat only highlighted the lack of strength in depth at Celtic Park and establishing the need for some heavy-duty recruitment in the summer.
“Let me make it abundantly clear at this point that Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell has absolutely nothing to do with the club’s transfer business. In or out.
“I know this for a fact because I had to get out of bed a few weeks ago to take a call from him early one Sunday morning.
“Peter was irate because of something I had written in that day’s column.
“Not a personal opinion of mine, I have to say, but a reference to a fan on the radio having alleged that the chairman’s hand was ‘all over’ Celtic’s transfer strategy.
“The wrongly accused chairman assured me, in no uncertain terms, this was inaccurate nonsense. I happily repeat his stance here while stating that whoever is responsible for sourcing new players needs to get the finger out.”
With Rangers now having claimed two derby wins this season and Celtic conceding three goals in each of the last three meetings, the pressure is on to reinforce key areas. Injuries have highlighted a lack of reliable depth, especially in central defence and midfield, and the summer will be pivotal in shaping how Rodgers’ second spell progresses.
