"He wouldn't have wanted to leave"; Celtic hero Chris Sutton on departing CEO

By Euan Davidson

January 29, 2021

Celtic hero Chris Sutton has spoken out about Peter Lawwell, Dominic McKay and the future of Neil Lennon.

Sutton, a regular on BT Sport’s Scottish Football Extra, was once again with Darrell Currie and Ally McCoist to speak about the week’s events.

Obviously, Peter Lawwell’s retirement was the main talking point, with Chris Sutton offering his take on the outgoing CEO:

“This is a rumour which has been doing the rounds for a long time, that he was going to step down in the summer. It’s how Peter’s time at the club is going to be viewed. He has been an extremely successful chief executive.

“The trophies he’s won, 29 in all, 4 trebles. You look across the city where Rangers have been in turmoil over the years, but Celtic have run a pretty steady ship under Peter Lawwell.

“He wouldn’t have wanted to leave this season. The fact [is] Celtic have blown 10 in a row, and I think he’ll feel slightly bad about that.”

 

Chris Sutton scoring for Celtic back in 2004. / (Photo by Chris Furlong/Getty Images)

Celtic man Chris Sutton on McKay and Lennon

Sutton also had a point to make about the future of Neil Lennon under Dominic McKay. The manager’s contract runs out in the summer, with many saying that he shouldn’t see it out.

Given the poor results of the 20-21 campaign, Sutton himself has advised his old teammate to walk away. With McKay coming in, that decision may not be Lennon’s to make in the summer.

Sutton said:

“I suppose the next step for Celtic is to make a decision on the manager. I can’t imagine Dominic McKay coming in and Neil Lennon still being there.”

Read about the fascinating and surprising link between Celtic and this weekend’s Copa Libertadores Final.