It's a healthy set of financial results to kick Peter Lawwell off as Celtic chairman - with a bright and prosperous future in his train of thought.
Ange Postecoglou's performance on the park with his free-flowing champions has brought the Premiership trophy back to Glasgow's east-end and they are on course for another piece of silverware, having also made the final of this year's Viaplay Cup. Lawwell has taken over as chairman from Iain Bankier after 18 years as chief executive and will oversee the rest of the Postecoglou era.
There's been brilliant numbers posted in the interim report, including a huge pre-tax profit of £33.9m before tax for the first half of this campaign. Revenue at Celtic Park is also on the rise by a hugely-significant degree of 44.8 per cent to £76.5m, which is a big improvement on the £52.9m. Here are three things we took from Lawwell's statement:
Early business
It's Champions League group stage qualification that has proved paramount to the success Celtic have had in this set of financials. Winning the league ahead of Rangers has allowed the Hoops to gain automatic qualification and the guarantee of a large cash pot, which allowed the boss' mantra of preparing ahead of time for the usual summer comings and goings. It means they have a staggering £50m in the bank in a report which boasted a bumper profit of almost £34m, although the second half of the term will be less lucrative.
Daizen Maeda, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota Alexandro Bernabei, Sead Haksabanovic, Aaron Mooy and Benjamin Siegrist were all signed permanently while Oliver Abildgaard and Moritz Jenz were loan signings, albeit the latter two have now left after finding minutes limited. Lawwell said: "This year is the second season under Ange and the success delivered in season 2021/22 in securing the SPFL title ensured we qualified directly for the UEFA Champions League Group stages for season 2022/23.
"This allowed us to plan and execute our transfer business early. Following from the permanent signings of Daizen Maeda, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Joao Pedro Neves Filipe (Jota), we went on to sign Alexandro Bernabei, Sead Haksabanovic, Aaron Mooy, Benjamin Siegrist and brought in loan signings Oliver Abildgaard and Moritz Jenz. As the season got underway in August, we were presented with a tough Champions League Group stage draw, alongside 14 times Champions League winners Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk. Despite a number of strong footballing performances we all shared Ange’s disappointment in not progressing further, but took heart from the competitive performances and experience gained by our young team which will serve them well in future European competition.
This season's aims
It seems as if the battle lines have also been drawn out for the objectives that remain this season. Getting qualified for the elite European group stages have been targeted again but there's a need to progress on the domestic front too. With a nine point gap in the Premiership, only shots in the foot will cost them retention while they will be keen to sweep up another treble like the ones savoured in Brendan Rodgers' era.
Lawwell said: "We currently sit 9 points ahead at the top of the SPFL Premiership, have reached the Viaplay Cup Final and have reached the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. We sit in a satisfactory position domestically, but strive to keep improving as a club.
"Our immediate priority is to secure domestic success for season 2022/23, with a view to progressing into the Champions League Group stages for a second consecutive year."
Training improvement
Lennoxtown is the hub for all things first-team at Celtic these days but off the back of their success financially, Barrowfield is also set to be upgraded. That is used by their Lowland League 'B' team and Fran Alonso's Women's side and development opportunities are now being sought after.
Lawwell added: "Our B Team continues to develop in the Lowland League under Darren O’Dea and Stephen McManus. A key objective of our B Team and Academy is to develop first team players and already this season B Team players Bosun Lawal and Rocco Vata have made their first team debuts, this is a major milestone and achievement for our young players and reflects our strategy of developing Academy players through our system.
"Our Women’s team also continues to progress under Fran Alonso and at the time of writing we sit second in the league and are in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. We wish to build upon the progress made in our Academy and the Women’s team, and are currently exploring development opportunities at our Barrowfield training ground with a view to enhancing the facilities for these squads.
READ NEXT:
