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McAvennie claims Lawwell is the 'stumbling block' amid major Celtic manager update
Frank McAvennie claims Peter Lawwell could be standing in the way of Celtic appointing a new manager.
The former Hoops forward, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed the hands-on nature of the chief executive could be putting potential managers off taking the reins at Parkhead.
This site understands that Eddie Howe has spoken to Premier League club Crystal Palace about taking over in the summer after receiving a ‘wonderful’ offer from Celtic.
Even though Lawwell is set to walk away from Celtic in the summer, McAvennie claims his influence is still felt at the club and that his presence could be a stumbling block as the hunt to appoint a new manager continues.
“If Eddie Howe said he’d take the job but they wait until the end of the season to announce it, fine, he’ll be doing the talking now,” McAvennie told Football Insider correspondent Ben Wild.
“Eddie, he’ll be like Brendan Rodgers and Martin O’Neill, he’ll want to run the club from top to bottom.
“That might be a stumbling block, especially with Peter Lawwell there at the moment because he likes to be hands-on.
“It might get easier to negotiate a deal once he’s gone. It depends if a manager can accept that. I don’t think a good manager will work like that. I don’t think it’s right.”
Lawwell will retire from his position as Celtic’s Chief Executive in June after joining the club in 2003 and overseeing a successful period that saw 29 trophies arrive at Parkhead.
The move was announced at the end of January, as Rangers were running away with the Scottish Premiership with Neil Lennon announcing his own resignation a month later.