David Murray accuses Celtic chief Peter Lawwell of 'wielding too much influence over Scottish football'

Yahoo

7 hours ago

David Murray accuses Celtic chief Peter Lawwell of 'wielding too much influence over Scottish football'
Celtic chief Peter Lawwell has been accused of trying to 'bury Rangers' as the Ibrox outfit lurched towards collapse.
The former Parkhead chief exec – now chairman – has long been accused of holding huge influence in Scottish football's corridors of power.
Advertisement
Now Sir David Murray has accused him of working to make the Light Blues suffer.
READ MORE: Sir David Murray's biggest Rangers regret is giving keys to Craig Whyte
READ MORE: Celtic offer caveat about star they want to keep as hardline transfer rules in place for £6m superstar from Pozarevac
He writes: 'Peter Lawwell was someone I knew previously.
'One of my companies GM Mining did business with Scottish Coal where Peter worked and I once invited him and his wife to Ibrox for a game.
'He was delighted to accept and back then was good company, but by the time he rose to become chief executive of Celtic he was on a completely different trajectory.
Advertisement
'For nearly two decades he tried to build up a seat of power and I honestly believe that by the end of his time at the club he was wielding far too much influence in Scottish football. At one point, after I sold Rangers, it seemed he was positively revelling in the demise of the club.
'He held sway on committees through friends and always used the strength of his power base when he thought it was necessary.
'Of course he had a job to do for his club – and no one could argue he did it well for much of his tenure – but with very few influential or credible figures working to Rangers' benefit, he became a pivotal figure in trying to grind them down and make them suffer.
'To me, it seemed the mantra was always, 'Let's bury Rangers'.'
Advertisement
****
Sir David Murray has revealed how Sean Connery lost £1million when Rangers went bust.
The late James Bond star was a close friend of the Ibrox owner and decided to invest in the club when Murray held a 2004 share issue.
Murray writes: 'For years, Sean and I would share a catch-up call every weekend to chat through the football and we would inevitably kick off with Rangers.
Sir Sean Connery with David Murray at Dens Park together in 2000. -Credit:Daily Record
'After all, he had put £1million into the club which no one knew about at the time or since.
'I was raising £50million in 2004 and Sean asked if he could invest. I told him that it was football, that there were no guarantees and he should get professional advice but he was adamant. He wanted in.
Advertisement
'Needless to say he never did get the money back but he understood completely. Football always will be a risky business."
****
Sir David Murray reckons Rangers' financial collapse denied Ibrox icon Ally McCoist the chance to become a managerial great.
McCoist was manager when Craig Whyte sank the club's operating company into administration and liquidation.
He stayed on to lead Gers on their journey through the lower leagues but resigned in 2014 after a fall-out with the Mike Ashley-backed regime in charge at that time.
Murray writes: 'Nobody will ever know how good a manager Alistair could have become for Rangers because it was going very well for him at one stage.
Advertisement
'But I have no doubt that when things are going bad off the park, they do affect things on the park. It filters through. He never stood a fighting chance.
'It's very hard to judge him as a manager because of those circumstances but thank God he was there because after the troubles he became the glue that would somehow hold it together under enormous pressure.
'I am so happy that he's gone on to carve out such a hugely successful media career.'
Mettle: Tragedy, Courage & Titles by Sir David Murray, published by Reach Sport rrp £22, is on sale Thursday 3rd July from Amazon and all good bookshops.
Preorder on Amazon HERE