Paul Lambert has said that Dominic McKay must bring instant success to Celtic as he prepares to take charge with the Quadruple Treble winners in the summer. Thursday marked Neil Lennon’s departure after nearly two years in charge of his second stint in charge. This means that McKay will be tasked with bringing in a Director of Football and a new manager.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Lambert says that McKay needs to hit the ground running as he prepares to takeover from Peter Lawwell.
“Rugby is a totally different sport,” former Celtic player and Ipswich Town boss Lambert told Sky Sports. “If he thinks he will go in there and get applauded from everybody, that doesn’t quite work in the Glasgow goldfish bowl.
“He’s going to have to hit the ground running. He’s going to have to win. Peter Lawwell did a fantastic job over the last few years.
“At Celtic, you have to win. It doesn’t matter if Barcelona, Manchester United or Manchester City came to town tomorrow. The fans expect you to win. Some people can’t handle it. Can you win title after title?
“You have to realise, if you finish second, you fail. The new chief executive needs to look at the bigger picture. You have to get trophies back and get the pendulum swinging back your way.
“Nine years of dominance… they have to get that back. If he thinks he will get one or two years of grace, he won’t get it. And rightly so, he shouldn’t get it.
“That’s the nature of Celtic. It’s a worldwide club. Not just European. It’s worldwide with the fanbase. He has to realise he must hit the ground running.”
The Ipswich boss has called on McKay to look at the bigger picture of Celtic in order to realise how important a fast start is to life in Glasgow. The SRU Chief is well renowned as a Communicator and Political operator within his role at Murrayfield meaning that supporters will expect a change in operations at Celtic Park.
McKay is set to inherit a colossal rebuilding job as a new era is heralded in with Lawwell and Lennon, two stalwarts at the club over the last two decades are departing. McKay will need to make sure that he retains a strong core of first team players and allows positive recruitment under a new DOF and to knock Rangers off their newly found perch.
