Paul Tisdale was a man of mystery at Celtic.
Despite there being a lot of off-field noise at Celtic, many questioned, including club legends such as Chris Sutton, as to what role Tisdale was playing at the club.
His official title was ‘Head of Football Operations’, so many felt his fingerprints were on Celtic’s woeful 2025 summer transfer window, including the appointment of Wilfried Nancy.
All of it proved to be problematic, and in the end, Tisdale was out the door, alongside Nancy, on Monday, and Celtic supporters were delighted.
But Scott Brown’s interactions with Tisdale, and what he thinks of him, are far different from what the perception is of the man.
- READ MORE: Gordon Duncan on what someone ‘very close’ to Martin O’Neill told him about Wilfried Nancy at Celtic
The first thing I would do if I was on the Celtic board is – – – –
Scott Brown on Paul Tisdale following his Celtic exit
Charlie Mulgrew was slating Tisdale on The Breakdown, and how he ‘wasn’t good enough’ to be in his role at the champions of Scotland.
But that’s when Brown, who is manager of Ayr United in the Scottish Championship, butted in and stated that the Englishman is ‘unbelievable.’
Celtic’s legendary midfielder also explained Tisdale was ‘really good for me’ in his role at Ayr.
Charlie Mulgrew: “He (Tisdale) obviously had a big part to play in that (Nancy’s appointment), and stuff happens. That’s life.
“He had a relationship with, is it (Kwame) Ampadu? Is that his name? Ampadu, the assistant (to Nancy). I think he had a relationship.
“Paul Tisdale, for me, it’s not been good enough, for me. I don’t know what his role is in the club.”
Brown: “Paul was really good for me. Mate, he was unbelievable for me. So, him, Shaun Maloney have been unbelievable. Darren O’Dea as well.”
Kevin Thomson: “So, are they part of the cooperation agreement with you at Ayr?”
Brown: “Aye, so we had to go and present, it was Darren, at the time and Paul. They couldn’t be anymore complimentary on what we wanted to do, and what they wanted. They signed a co-op deal, no problem whatsoever. That was thanks to Paul and Shaun.
“It helped that I played there a wee bit (Brown laughs). I am not going to lie, I was texting Brendan, please help us out here, lads.
“No, but they were really good. See getting players in. Shaun has been unbelievable with it as well.”
Rate Pauls Tisdale’s performance as Celtic’s head of operations in the comments below.
'In my role 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.'
Brown’s record at Ayr United
This is Brown’s second managerial job after he coached Fleetwood Town for 12 months before taking the gig at Ayr in 2024.
Several former Celtic players are coaching in Scotland’s second division, including Mark Wilson chasing down leaders St Johnstone with Partick Thistle, and Neil Lennon at play-off chasing Dunfermline.
Ayr themselves are fourth in the table, in a play-off spot, as Brown is chasing promotion and coaching in the SPFL.
- Brown’s games at Ayr: 90
- Wins: 43
- Draws: 22
- Losses: 25
- Goals scored: 154
- Goals conceded: 105
- Points Per Match: 1.68
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