PERHAPS one of the more enlightening aspects of Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou's recent interview with former Australian international goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer was the fact former club CEO Peter Lawwell was very hands-on during his managerial appointment.

Postecoglou's 50-minute sitdown with Schwarzer on Optus Sport covered a myriad of topics but the speediness with which Lawwell clicked into gear after the collapse of the Eddie Howe deal needs to be commended.

Within hours of Howe revealing that he would not be Celtic bound and replacing Neil Lennon in the Parkhead hotseat, Postecoglou was the name that dominated the media headlines with Lawwell apparently firmly behind the wheel and driving the bus to land his man.

"It’s a long story," Postecoglou said in the interview. "But like all these things there are little threads that sort of join along the way that you don’t realise.

“When I was working in Japan I was part of the City [Football] Group, working with Manchester City. And within that group, there was an association with the ex-CEO of the club here, Peter Lawwell.

“I think they’d been tracking me for a while and because of my success in Japan. They were probably one of the ones who were paying attention to what I was doing because I was part of the group.

“I think the seed was planted, they’d been following me for a while and things didn’t work out with Eddie Howe coming to Celtic and I got contacted. He kept pushing it with Peter Lawwell and they finally got me an opportunity to speak with the people who make the decisions and the rest is history.”

On the face of it, then, Lawwell had conducted due diligence on the manager and had his hands on the tiller to bring the relatively unknown 56-year-old to European shores.

At the club's AGM in November, Celtic chairman Iain Bankier mentioned that it was Lawwell - not his successor Dominic McKay - who was instrumental in bringing Postecoglou to Paradise.

As Bankier confirmed at the AGM: "I have to pay tribute to Peter Lawwell and his contribution to the club over a number of years. It has been absolutely massive and he retired with great dignity at the end of last year. He was instrumental in the appointment and identification of Ange. He did everything properly and professionally for us."

What part McKay played in the process is now anybody's guess - but he did not hang around long enough to see Postecoglou lay the foundations in his 'beautiful house' in any case.

Current club CEO Michael Nicholson has fostered an early relationship with Postecoglou which so far seems to be reciprocal. After the successful recruitment drive in January which saw the club bring in the likes of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Matt O'Riley, Postecglou tipped his hat to the new chief executive.

"Whatever vision I have for the club and the kind of team that I want us to be, that has to be supported," said Postecoglou. "I cannot do it on my own. No manager can do it on their own.

"I rely on other people in the club in key roles such as Michael or Chris MacKay (the finance director) to get these deals done and support my vision. If we are not aligned, or if there is a difference of opinion there, it can make my job awfully hard.

READ MORE: Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou hails appointment of 'driving force' Michael Nicholson as Parkhead CEO

“From the moment I arrived, Michael, even though he wasn’t CEO, was involved in a lot of deals when we got players in. I really felt comfortable working with him, really supported by him and that’s crucial for us.

“I don’t want to speak on Michael’s behalf but when he needs to be, he’s got real firm views on what is best for this football club and he won’t be shy in saying them.

“I think the main thing about anyone in a key role is just to be yourself, to be authentic. I think people will appreciate that. That’s what Michael is. He loves this football club, he wants the best for it.

“He’s very much his own man and he will do it his way. But supporters will appreciate that because the main thing about him is that he will do right by this club.

“Our visions are aligned. It’s not always the way and there may be times in the future where, whatever my vision is, it’s at odds with Michael's. You know, if there is reasoning behind it, then I am comfortable with that as well. That’s the key.

"I have good and open discussions with Michael and for both of us, it’s about this football club. It’s not about ourselves, personally. It’s about what we think is going to be the right fit for this club.”

Celtic Way:

Leaving a Celtic legacy was important to Lawwell when he quit the club last summer. He polarised opinion when he left the club after 17 trophy-laden years that yielded 29 pieces of silverware.

Thirteen league titles including a second nine-in-a-row, an unprecedented quadruple treble and a healthy bank balance were all Lawwell-stamped during his tenure as Celtic CEO.

There was one huge blip - and it was massive. The blowing of the coveted '10-in-a-row' amid a disastrous season in 2020-21 saw Celtic lose the championship to Rangers by 25 points.

In the eyes of some of the fans that is and will remain an unforgivable crime. Now, though, it might be time to give Lawwell credit where it is due again.

His legacy among the support will always be the subject of great debate, yet it was Lawwell who knew Postecoglou would be the right fit for this club and pushed for his appointment as Celtic manager.

It has been an inspired choice. No Celtic supporter can dispute that.

The faithful may well have 40 million more reasons to thank Lawwell for Postecoglou's appointment come May.

The man who once famously poked fun at Rangers in response to the Ibrox club reputedly receiving a £9million bid for striker Nikica Jelavic on the final day of the transfer window by saying: "We turned down a bid of £29million for Gary Hooper. It came from an unknown agent, from another universe. We deal in facts at Celtic Football Club."

Here's something that might not sit comfortably with sections of the support: Lawwell's Celtic legacy may well have changed for the positive again thanks to the managerial exploits of Postecoglou.

As the manager himself said on his appointment after meeting with Lawwell: "The rest is history."

One wonders if - at an unknown location, in an unknown universe - Lawwell is affording himself a wry smile. 

Perception is everything. He has now gone from being one of the men who blew the 10 to the man who procured Postecoglou. 

That's a fact. Celtic Football Club deals in them. If you know your history and all that.