Celtic’s head of football operations, Paul Tisdale, reportedly delivered a ‘surprise’ address to Celtic youngsters during the international break.
Tisdale was recruited by the Hoops in October 2024, but his role has been questioned by a number of Celtic fans over the past two transfer windows.
Upon his appointment, he explained his responsibilities: “I will be doing all I can to further develop our work across talent identification, development and analytics, always with the aim of ensuring high-level support of football performance.”
Chris Sutton blasted the ‘so-called football doctor’ in a recent column after Celtic’s disastrous 2025 summer transfer window, scrutinising his position.
A few weeks on since then, it has now emerged that Tisdale gave a presentation to members of Celtic B, the U19s and the U17s.
Tisdale’s address to Celtic B and academy players
While a portion of Celtic’s first-team squad were away representing their countries, Tisdale emerged from the shadows to explain the demands set by Brendan Rodgers and what to expect working your way through the ranks at the club.
The Celtic Way reported that many were ‘surprised’ by Tisdale’s appearance given the fact he’s attended just one Celtic B match since last October.
The publication wrote: “Paul Tisdale recently gave a presentation to a large group of Celtic academy youngsters. The B team were present, along with most of the under-19s squad, and some members of the under-17s set-up.
“The Head of Football Operations went through what Brendan Rodgers wants from his first-team players and how youths can work their way through the ranks.
“To many, Tisdale’s address came as a surprise. Aside from the B team’s Glasgow Cup final defeat to Rangers in April, he hasn’t been spotted at any youth matches since his official appointment.
“The Englishman is known as somewhat of an elusive figure, and at least within the academy, he lives up to that reputation.”
Tisdale’s appointment was discussed at Celtic meeting
Celtic chiefs and a number of fan associations held a meeting recently at Celtic Park to address the unrest between supporters and board.
Tisdale was not present at the meeting, but fans were keen to question the board over the recruitment process that led to his appointment last year.
CEO Michael Nicholson noted Brendan Rodgers supported the arrival of Tisdale, while Chris McKay explained a ‘project’ the head of football operations had worked on recently.
The meeting minutes stated: “The meeting discussed the Head of Football Operations role and the recruitment thereof, with confirmation sought as to whether a recruitment process was followed and if other candidates were interviewed, whether there was any pre-existing connection between the Clubs’ current Head of Football Operations and any Celtic plc board members and whether the football manager was involved.
“CMcK (McKay) confirmed that the Club spoke with several potential candidates that had been identified but that there was no external recruitment consultancy appointed.
“MN (Nicholson) confirmed that there was no family or business connection between the current Head of Football Operations and Celtic plc board members, but that individuals had crossed paths previously.
“MN confirmed that the manager supported the recruitment of Paul Tisdale following a consultancy period last summer.
“CMcK confirmed that Paul Tisdale had worked on a project in which he analysed the Club’s game model with a view to mapping the Club’s playing style and system with a view to using data driven results to identify players who fit the Club’s model.”
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