Hoops supremo Peter Lawwell believes that Jock Stein would be proud of where Celtic are today – and the way the club have played their football this season.

The Parkhead side are currently unbeaten domestically after becoming the first team for 118 years to go through a league campaign unbeaten while the possibility of only the fourth domestic Treble in this history awaits this weekend.

Celtic celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions today and Lawwell is satisfied that the men who put the club on the map would be pleased at the position the Parkhead side are in on and off the field.

Read more: Pierre van Hooijdonk: Celtic would be better in the Europa League because they can win it​Glasgow Times:

“I think Jock would have been really proud of us,” said Lawwell. “In terms of the club and where we are now, a lot of work has gone into establishing the organisation and the structure over the years, whether that is the academy or the commercial side or the foundation, but the club has certainly become a top class European club in everything we do.

“We have had everything in place but Brendan [Rodgers] has been the spark. I think Jock Stein and others like Brother Walfrid who form the core pieces of this club as well as the Lions would all be proud of what we have here in front of us today. It is different days, different circumstances, commercially and financially, but we have never given up driving this club to be the best it can possibly be. I think they would be proud of where we are at the moment, of how we play football and I think they would enjoy the ambition that we have to take the club forward.”

And Lawwell has insisted that in Rodgers, the club have their own modern day Stein at the helm.

Read more: Pierre van Hooijdonk: Celtic would be better in the Europa League because they can win it​

“There is a wee bit of similarity between Brendan and Jock Stein in that all the players, virtually, were there when they came in,” said Lawwell. “We only bought Willie Wallace and Joe McBride, who of course got injured, back then and Jock converted them into the team that they became and a team that become renowned.

“Brendan has come in a year ago and 9 out of the 11 were here last year. He has done the same thing; Moussa [Dembele] and Scott [Sinclair] are the only two we brought in who have played a big role this season so there are some similarities there in terms of the job that he has done in developing this team. In both of these men what you see are motivators and coaches and developers.

“Brendan is capable, in my view, of managing at the highest, highest level. Therefore I don’t think Brendan would leave us for anything other than a major club who are operating at the very top in terms of their league status. He is the full package. He is the real deal and not only are we fortunate to have him, he is loving it. He has been pleased with the structure that is in place at the club and how the club is run.”