\u201cCeltic are coming here as champions and it has all the makings of a terrific match.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cMy players have been excellent again this season. They have been superb.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe set a club record of seven away wins earlier in the season and have once again finished in the top six.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt is another great achievement.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \n As far as Celtic are concerned, there’ll be no Brown, no Boyata and probably no Charlie Mulgrew. There’s talk of a debut for Tony Ralston, who has been on loan at Queens Park, and is a right back in the mold of the current young player of the year Keiran tierney.<\/p>\n Maybe Ronny will leave some sort of legacy…<\/p>\n All eyes will be on Leigh Griffiths as he attempts to join the elite band of players who have scored forty goals in a season, and whilst he should be confident that he’ll make that total, sometimes the lad gives the impression that he tries a little too hard.<\/p>\n Tonight is his last game of the season as he is suspended for Saturdays Motherwell game, and whether or not he hits the forty, he’s had a splendid year, and fully deserves a break.<\/p>\n On now to the guff, and Celtic will apparently hold talks with Brendan Rodgers today, which will surprise a lot of people at Celtic Park, as it is now almost certain to be Roy Keane who takes up the reins after Deila exits stage left. They’ll be surprised as they have already been told.<\/p>\n That won’t come as any surprise to any diary reader, nor will the news that Martin O’Neill will join later as a director of football.<\/p>\n However, as Keane is quite an impulsive chap, I still wouldn’t put a shiny pound on this with the bookies, but then again, I wouldn’t put a pound on it raining later if a tornado went screaming past my front window.<\/p>\n In response to a fading public image, Chief Executive Peter Lawwell has given an exclusive warts and all type interview with the Sun, so no matter what he says, it’s probably going to be different from what reaches the printed version.<\/p>\n Whilst there’s an understandable urge to avoid the Record from club insiders, choosing the sun so soon after welcoming the Justice for the 96 people to Celtic Park is a massive PR blunder.<\/p>\n It’s unfathomable how someone at Celtic Park didn’t consider all the bases when assessing the reaction to the interview, and no-one foresaw the outcry which started last night on social media, and will continue for days yet.<\/p>\n The interview itself is fairly straightforward, and long on style but short on substance.<\/p>\n Firstly, he was asked his thoughts on what fans think of him, something i’m still not entirely sure he’s fully aware of.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cSupporters are very much entitled to their opinion.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhen things don\u2019t go as well as they hope then there is always somebody to blame. In terms of the banners I don\u2019t take that personally.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI take it as a sign of the times, but the answer is this: If I\u2019m not here, then there will be a new me.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAnd he\u2019s not suddenly going to find tens of millions of pounds stuffed in the bottom drawer. And he\u2019s only going to try and do the same things that I\u2019ve been doing to maximise the future of this club.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cListen, I can understand why people on the outside looking in have their opinions but they don\u2019t actually know how the club is run.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe see it at the Emirates, we see it at Goodison and Villa. That\u2019s where we are in today\u2019s society. When supporters become frustrated and disappointed they look for people to blame.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAt first it was Ronny who got it and he\u2019s now going so the sights are trained on me but my view is that, as a club, we\u2019re in very good shape.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had a very, very tough year but we look forward with a new manager and a new beginning.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment I\u2019m focused on getting the right manager in and preparing for the new season.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cCriticism is par for the course when you\u2019ve been at the club as long as I have. There are going to be lows and you\u2019re going to get it in the neck. It\u2019s the same for Dermot who\u2019s been here even longer.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI can understand why it happens because the supporters always look for more. But my life is based on reality, not perception. I know exactly where we are as a club. We\u2019re in a good place.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIf I decide to go or the board decides it\u2019s time for me to go, then the club is merely going to get a new me. Now the new me might be better but he might not be as good. But the club will continue down the same track.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In one sense here, he’s simply saying that its not him who is unpopular, its the policies. He’s right , to an extent, and it isn’t too far away from the truth to say that he is the focal point of fans disenchantment, but he’s mixing up Peter the person with Peter the CEO.<\/p>\n \u00a0What he is doing is playing down his role in within the club, and thats the wrong route to take.<\/p>\n Really, if you are under pressure, you should point to what you have achieved, and not that someone else would do exactly the same.<\/p>\n And as for looking for the right manager, oh come on, we know who it is, we know when he’ll be here, and we even know that Jim McGuinness will take training until he arrives, on the 29th of june, or thereabouts.<\/p>\n Then it was time to remind us that we’re lucky to have him, but instead of telling us why, and there are several reasons, he reminds us that other clubs were willing to pay him much more…<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cI love the club. If it was about the money I wouldn\u2019t be here. I\u2019ve had opportunities to go \u2014 for a LOT of money \u2014 but I chose to stay.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just been one opportunity either. But Celtic is my life. It\u2019s more than a job, it\u2019s a passion.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve supported Celtic all my life. I\u2019d like to think when I do eventually go I can look back and say: \u2018I did this, that and the next thing\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got social media and the bloggers, posters and trolls who think they know what\u2019s going on at the club. They don\u2019t.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t have all the information. The reality is different from their perception and I need to deal with reality every day.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut criticism comes with living a public life in 2016. People dislike me having never met me, but that goes with the territory and you either put up with it or you don\u2019t.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAnd at the moment I\u2019m putting up with it because I\u2019ve got things to do. But I\u2019ll be honest, the job is all-consuming, it\u2019s 24\/7.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere is very little time in my life when I don\u2019t think about Celtic and my job.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Er, for most of us Celtic is 24\/7.<\/p>\n And a wee bit more than that.<\/p>\n He then talks about the reality of playing in Scotland, and its far and away the most revealing and accurate part of the interview;<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d love to go to the new manager and say we have a \u00a340million warchest or a \u00a350m warchest to buy the best and go for it.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut we play in Scotland, we don\u2019t have that. The reality is we don\u2019t have an alternative to what we\u2019re doing. For me that\u2019s an exciting project for the right manager, the right guy. This is Celtic.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an iconic club, one of the biggest in the world. Even today we\u2019re highly regarded as one of the best-run clubs in Europe.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere is an excitement here which should be an attraction for somebody to come, get a hold of it and take us back into the Champions League.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIf your ambitions are to win the Scottish Premier League and move on then I can see that. But our ambition is to go further so for me it\u2019s a very attractive proposition for somebody who wants to come in and create something.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe get criticised for our strategy but I just don\u2019t see any alternative. Everything we take out we put back in. But that\u2019s it. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n There are alternatives, however, if you look for them.<\/p>\n The main one is the scouting policy. Employ proper scouts who spot players, instead of asking agents who they have that might fit in.<\/p>\n Credit to Lawwell for trying to connect with the support, and trying to keep them informed, but I have to ask, why would he do it in the Sun ?<\/p>\n It is just the start of a few “interviews ” this week, so maybe he’s just getting the bad one out of the way first.<\/p>\n Of course, the most significant issue was left out, as it is kryptonite to journalists, and by ignoring it Lawwell has simply added fuel to the fires of conspiracy.<\/p>\n Resolution 12.<\/p>\n And surprisingly, for both you and I, I’m going to say something , and i’m going to ask you to trust me, or at least bide your time here… because, lets just say this is how I would word a statement were I to be asked….<\/p>\n Celtic have done nothing wrong in regards to this issue.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Celtic are continuing to work with a group of people around a suggestion that rules may have been broken.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Everyone concerned is upbeat about how things are progressing<\/em><\/p>\n When that investigation reaches a conclusion, the club will announce how it will proceed.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n I’m going to put what little credibility I have on those words…<\/p>\n It’s amazing what you can find out when you just ask people.<\/p>\n Anyhoo, I noticed that amazon, the online movie and tv company, have a documentary featuring a look at how “rangers ” will get on in next years Scottish premier – it looks quite good.<\/p>\n It’s called “The Walking Dead Season 5”<\/p>\n Radio Scotland had an interesting show on as well…<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.queensparkfc.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/anthony-profile-2.jpg\")
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