Video: The astonishing Andy Walker on-air rant at the Celtic men who lack 'backbone'

By John McGinley

January 12, 2021

Sky Sports pundit Andy Walker didn’t miss Celtic with his on-air rant at the club’s decision-makers last night.

The Bhoys’ trip to Dubai has provoked a lot of anger amongst the support.

Not only did it seem to go against the spirit of combating the ongoing pandemic, it has also resulted in over a dozen Celtic players having to self-isolate alongside manager Neil Lennon and his assistant John Kennedy.

A youthful-looking match squad had to be named against Hibs last night, as a result.

Walker let rip on Sky Sports in the build-up to the fixture, lambasting the club for its lack of ‘backbone’.

He said: “It’s extraordinary. And we’re also seeing some dismal governance from this club (Celtic). It is unbelievably arrogant to abuse your status as an elite sportsman.

“That was only brought in for international or elite competition, not for a jolly in Dubai.

“What the Celtic supporters deserve is a bit of contrition from someone, anyone, with a bit of backbone at this club. Preferably Dermot Desmond because he’s the one that makes the big changes. He’s the one who could knock some heads together here.

“You’ve got to remember Celtic supporters are paying their season tickets to see all the big stars – they’re not seeing them tonight. That’s not their fault, they’re being short-changed, and it’s completely unacceptable.”

Andy Walker is right about Celtic, for once

Co-pundit Alan Stubbs, who also played at Celtic Park for a spell, would agree with this assessment.

For me, this time, Walker gets it spot on. He’s hardly known as the most pro-Celtic voice in the media but I find it hard to argue with anything he’s said.

The former Celtic striker looked visibly annoyed at those people at the club who have let us all down this season.

Celtic Park / (Photo by Rob Casey/SNS Group via Getty Images)

The lack of leadership shown at the club on this issue, in particular, is astonishing.

Whoever sanctioned the Dubai trip needs to face the music. They are not the only ones this season.

As Celtic stumble from crisis to scandal and back again, our fans deserve more than statements that obfuscate the facts and blindly defend this shambles of a season.

In other news, these are the 4 things we learned after Celtic drew with Hibs.