Peter Lawwell: Getting Celtic fans back inside Parkhead in a safe environment is our priority

The Scottish champions confirmed that Neil Lennon’s squad will return to training on June 11 – a week on Thursday – after getting the go-ahead from the Scottish government to do so yesterday.

An August 1 date has been pencilled in for the start of the new top flight campaign and a statement on the official Celtic website expressed hope the SPFL would be able to issue a fixture list soon.

Lawwell, meanwhile, stressed that Celtic officials had made ensuring their supporters can attend games in the new campaign their top priority.

"Everyone at Celtic warmly welcomes the decision in principle to a phased return to training and matches, while fully accepting that all decisions made in this regard must continue to have the safety and wellbeing of all concerned at their core,” he said.

"The past few months have been extremely difficult for supporters, players, staff and clubs right across the game. While we accept there will be no immediate return to normality, we are moving in the right direction and we thank our fans for their patience, understanding and support during these unprecedented times.

"I would like to also thank all our medical, safety and operations staff at Celtic and those across football for the extensive work they have done in striving for a safe return for us all.

“Celtic has, for some time, been engaging with relevant experts in this field - knowledge and guidance which we have shared with the joint response group, other Scottish clubs and the Scottish Government in order to support a safe, effective and quick return to football.

"Clearly, the important work we have done will be crucial as we move forward. We need to get back to football, safely, as soon as possible. That is our message and that is our aim."

Lawwell continued: "Our supporters are everything to us and our focus, ultimately, will be to do all we can to bring our fans back to matches as soon as we can. Our promise is to work as hard as we can to get our fans back to Celtic Park, to liaise closely with government and the footballing authorities to find solutions and return to normal as soon as possible.

"The majority of leagues across Europe are back training, some already playing and many already with agreements in place to bring supporters back to matches. We can assure our fans that this will also be Celtic’s priority.

"In the meantime, we thank our fans sincerely for their continued engagement with and support of the Club. While we are still celebrating our title win, hopefully we can now look forward to the return of our fantastic Nine-In-A-Row team in the near future and look ahead to more success on the field.”

Celtic manager Neil Lennon said: "While the crisis we have all faced has put life and football on hold, our work behind the scenes, to do all we can to return to training and, of course, matches, as soon as possible, has continued throughout. This is what we all want, but we need to do it safely.

"The health and well-being of our supporters, players and staff will always be our priority and while nothing should ever compromise this, we will do all we can to get football back and reunite with our fans as soon as possible.

"Our work off the pitch never stops and since the suspension of football was announced, we have been ensuring that our players have all they need across all areas in terms of their physical condition and all other elements of their welfare. We never stand still so we are ready to go as soon as we get the green light.

"We have been putting programmes in place for a return to some form of training, looking at our plans and objectives for next season and, as always, have continued to look at identifying new player targets and ways we can develop our squad.

"Clearly, we continue to face a difficult and serious situation, but our fans can rest assured that we are doing all we can within the guidelines laid down to get back to doing what we do best, as soon as possible.

"I would like to thank our fans for staying with us. Hopefully you are still enjoying the celebrations from our ninth title in a row. Like you, we want to get back to business as soon as we can.”