The next chairman of Celtic should represent ambition, not stability.

Peter Lawwell’s resignation was, in my view, a glorious day for Celtic, but the bigger question now is not about the man who has gone. It is about the man who comes next. What kind of chairman does Celtic need now?

A hard-headed professional, a passionate Celtic man, or a modern figure who understands both football and the soul of this club?

That day felt glorious to me, and I suspect it felt the same to a lot of Celtic fans. When the man who once dominated this club (to our detriment) finally stepped down, I felt real relief mixed with genuine happiness.

It was not enough on its own, because I still believe others at the top should be under far more scrutiny than they have faced, but Lawwell going felt significant. It felt like the first real sign that something might finally change.

When the news hit my screen, I felt a sudden, almost physical jolt, as if the heavy, stagnant air hanging over Celtic Park for years had finally shifted in a single breath. It did not feel like a routine corporate statement or just another boardroom update. It felt like a moment, even if he did launch a lunatic attack on fans in his farewell statement.

Some websites called Peter Lawwell the architect and the face of Celtic. Wait a minute. What face? Because to me, he was never the face of Celtic in any way I recognised. He became the face of caution, drift and a club too often content to hold itself back.

Calling him the architect of Celtic is pish as well. The true architect of modern Celtic was Fergus McCann. He rebuilt the club, gave it direction and gave it purpose. That is the standard I keep coming back to when I think about what Celtic need now.

Because that is the real issue. This is not just about replacing a chairman. It is about deciding whether Celtic continue down the road of caution or finally choose ambition again. That so-called strength Lawwell held came at a cost. He became a deeply divisive figure, respected by some for financial stewardship, but resented by many fans for a lack of ambition and for the growing distance between the boardroom and the support.

Processing his resignation now, I still feel that rush of relief, that sense a window has finally been opened and some fresh air has been let in.

But there is also a reflective side to it, because whether you loved him or loathed him, his departure marked the end of an era. On paper, the Lawwell years were successful. I cannot pretend otherwise. We watched Celtic dominate domestically in a way that made us feel untouchable at times, and I cannot ignore the financial stability that kept the club strong while others around us fell apart.

But that was never the whole story, and it should not be dressed up as if it was.

What angers me is the way some people online talk about him as though he was some kind of visionary saviour. It is one thing to acknowledge trophies and balance sheets. It is another thing entirely to pretend those years represented the fullest version of what Celtic should be. They certainly did not. A few changes to the training ground, at the tail end of almost 20 years at the club, does not put him on a par with Fergus.

Too often, we felt something missing. We have watched Celtic fall short in Europe, not because we lacked potential, but because caution seemed to be built into the way the club was run. Too many decisions felt driven by spreadsheets instead of ambition. Too many opportunities seemed to pass us by because risk was treated as something to be feared rather than embraced.

Worse than that, there was a growing disconnect between the board and the support. I felt it, and so did many others. There was a sense too often that the people who carried this club in their hearts were being tolerated rather than heard.

That is why Lawwell’s departure felt glorious. Not out of bitterness, not sout of spite, but because deep down I felt I was watching the end of something that had stopped breathing properly years ago. It felt like the weight had shifted.

It felt like Celtic had reached a crossroads. That is why this next appointment matters so much. It will show us which way we’re going.

For me, the biggest lesson of the Lawwell years is not simply that one man had too much power.

It is that Celtic cannot afford to be cautious any longer. We cannot keep dressing up standing still as stability. We cannot keep confusing restraint with wisdom. In modern football, caution does not always protect you.

Sometimes it slowly suffocates you.

That is the question at the heart of all this.

What should a chairman be in the modern Celtic?

For me, he is not just a man in a suit sitting above it all. He is the guardian of the club’s identity. He helps set the tone and shapes the culture and plays a part in deciding whether Celtic dream or whether Celtic settle.

The person in that job does not pick the team or coach on the pitch, but he influences everything around it. He either helps build the structure that allows Celtic to thrive, or he becomes part of one that slowly strangles the club’s ambition.

I find myself torn when I think about who should take that role.

Part of me wants a ruthless professional, somebody who understands the modern game at the highest level, somebody who will not let emotion cloud judgement and who can push Celtic forward in a ruthless football world. Another part of me, and if I am honest, it is the louder part, wants somebody who feels Celtic, somebody who understands what this club means beyond balance sheets and boardrooms.

Because this is not just any club. It is something living and breathing. It is something carried in the hearts of people like me.

At the same time, I understand the danger of both extremes. I do not want another era of cold caution where everything is calculated to the point of paralysis. I also do not want blind emotion leading us into chaos. What I want, and what I think Celtic desperately need, is balance.

A chairman who understands football properly, but who also understands us. Somebody who respects the identity of this club but is not afraid to evolve it. Somebody brave enough to take risks when it matters. A leader who refuses to let Celtic stand still while the rest of the game moves on.

That is my biggest fear now, that we replace one problem with another. That this opportunity slips through our fingers because the board choose comfort over courage again. I do not want another safe pair of hands if those hands are there only to preserve the status quo. I want direction and vision. Above all, I want ambition.

That is why I keep coming back to Fergus McCann, because for me he remains the standard. He was not perfect, but he had strength, clarity and the courage to make decisions that genuinely moved Celtic forward.

He understood the size of the club, the weight of the responsibility and the need to act boldly when the moment demanded it. That is the kind of leadership Celtic are crying out for now. Not a figurehead. Not a caretaker. A leader.

I know what the fans want, because I am one of them. I want ambition and honesty and to feel like the people running Celtic hear us and understand what this club means beyond numbers and reports. Football governance is complex, and I know it is not as simple as shouting from the stands. But that does not mean the heartbeat of the support should be ignored.

So, I look at this moment not just as the end of one era, but as a real choice. This is not simply about who comes next. It is about what Celtic choose to become.

For me, Peter Lawwell’s departure felt like a release, a moment when I finally allowed myself to believe Celtic might change direction.

I will not ignore what was achieved domestically or the financial strength the club held during those years, because I feel the pride in that. But I also carry the frustration of what Celtic never became, especially in Europe, and the anger of that widening disconnect between the board and the support.

What I want now is simple in words, but massive in meaning.

I want Celtic to be led with ambition, not caution.

I do not want another era of standing still dressed up as stability. Celtic need a chairman in the mould of Fergus McCann, somebody strong, somebody who understands the weight of the club, but who is brave enough to move it forward.

Because this is about more than a replacement.

It is a chance to decide what Celtic truly want to be.

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