They have put Celtic's Peter Lawwell high up on their shortlist

Sunderland are looking for a new chief executive after Margaret Byrne's resignation

Sunderland have put Celtic’s Peter Lawwell high up on their shortlist of names to fill their chief executive vacancy.

The 56-year-old has been at the helm at Parkhead since 2003 and is seen to have been instrumental in ensuring the club has remained financially stable off the park and successful on it during that period.

Linked with Arsenal several years ago, Lawwell’s astute leadership in a difficult marketplace has won him many admirers south of the border.

Sunderland are interested in Celtic's Peter Lawwell potentially filling the vacant chief executive role

The 56-year-old has been at the helm at Celtic since 2003 and is credited with the club's financial stability

Margaret Byrne resigned as Sunderland's chief executive over the club's handling of the Adam Johnson case

The Black Cats have been looking for a replacement for Margaret Byrne after she quit over the handling of the Adam Johnson abuse case.

A member of both the SFA Board and the European Club Association’s Executive Board, Lawwell’s expertise in football business and administration have marked him out as an ideal candidate.

Lawwell’s name is one of several under consideration, although he has never given any indication that he would be willing to leave the club he supported as a boy.

The fact Sunderland might well be relegated this season is unlikely to endear him to the possibility of moving there.

Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce watched his side lose to Leicester on Sunday as they scrap for survival

Sunderland could be re-building in the Championship

An accountant to trade, he initially joined Celtic as financial controller in 1990 but left the club to hold senior positions in Mining Scotland and Clydeport.

He returned to succeed Ian McLeod 13 years ago and has enjoyed a reputation as being one of the shrewdest boardroom figures in the British game.

Also in the frame for the job is former Sunderland goalkeeper Chris Turner, who has been chief executive at Chesterfield for the past five years.

Meanwhile, Motherwell defender Kieran Kennedy claims Celtic’s Colin Kazim-Richards was lucky to dodge a red card which would have ruled him out of Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final with Rangers.

The duo were caught up in a flashpoint in the 73rd minute of a 2-1 win which took Celtic a step closer to a fifth successive Premiership title on Saturday.

Both appeared to raise their hands in a heated row on the edge of the Motherwell penalty area, Kennedy accusing Kazim-Richards of grabbing him by the neck.

Referee Willie Collum spoke to both players and, if the match officials saw the incident and dealt with it, the Celtic striker is likely to escape any further scrutiny from SFA compliance officer Tony McGlennan ahead of the Rangers clash.

‘I think if the ref had seen it, he (Kazim-Richards) would have been sent off,’ insisted Kennedy. ‘It didn’t bother me. It happens in football.

‘I raised my hands as well. It’s one of them. I saw him push one of the lads, so I came in and everyone was pumped up for the game and going for it.

‘The referee said to us: “Any more of that and you’re off”.

‘I was thinking: “I haven’t put my hands around his throat”.

‘So the referee clearly didn’t see it because, if he did he is off.