Celtic fans are rightly raging with the club’s board at the moment.
The Hoops have endured a poor summer transfer window having spent just shy of £4m with only a few days left of the market open.
Brendan Rodgers has been desperate for quality signings for weeks now, but the club’s hierarchy – who do all the wheeling and dealing – haven’t delivered.
They did not deliver in time for Celtic’s Champions League play-off defeat to Kairat Almaty, and the anger towards Dermot Desmond, Peter Lawwell and Michael Nicholson has only got worse.
Fans are demanding answers from the trio, but don’t expect the radio silence to end – they are notorious for avoiding on-the-record interviews.
Yes, they speak at AGMs and have been questioned in-house by Celtic’s media team. But when were they all last held accountable by the press? 67 Hail Hail takes a look below.
Dermot Desmond
- Position: Non-Executive Director / Majority Shareholder
- Appointed to Board: May 1995
Desmond owns the most shares – over 32.7 million – in Celtic Football Club and pulls the most strategical strings in the background.
Out of the main three most influential board members, the Irishman is the least visible. He doesn’t even attend the club’s AGMs, appearing in none of the last 18.
So when did he last provide an interview to the press? Not an in-house club media interview, not via written statements – an actual sit-down chat with a journalist.
It came in September 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for The Athletic.
He was asked about the state of Scottish football, his views on a British Premier League that would see Celtic and Rangers play against England’s top clubs, and his main goal as owner of Celtic.
These comments are particularly resonant at the moment. He said: “Every year since I have had somewhat of an influence within the club, the ambition is to improve in every metric, full stop.
“We want to win the league, the cups, succeed in Europe. We want to entertain better, we want the club to carry out its functions in a highly professional way in every single department. That’s the strategy and ambition of the board.
“So whether it’s 10 in a row or six in a row or two in a row, what we want to do is to improve. We want to improve our methodology in every operating department.”
It’s been almost five years since that interview, as the wait goes on for Desmond to speak publicly again about Celtic.
Peter Lawwell
- Position: Chairman
- Appointed to Board: January 2023
Formerly Celtic’s chief executive since 2003, Lawwell was appointed as the club’s chairman in December 2022 and started his work in that position a month later.
He’s certainly more visible than Desmond, but fans would prefer if he was held more accountable than he has been over the last few years.
There’s been in-house club media chats published on social media and AGM comments, but he hasn’t been interviewed directly by the press since February 2018.
It was an interview live on BBC Radio Scotland as Lawwell spoke largely on the SFA. Of course, though, he was quizzed on Celtic.
He said at the time: “I think the balance sheet is probably the strongest it’s ever been in the club’s history. That allows us to plan for the future and invest in the squad; and also the infrastructure around Celtic Park.
“We’re well-resourced. In football, it can be very volatile and very unpredictable but we now have a solid base that allows us to take on the challenges that football presents.
“We’re in very good financial shape but you can’t be complacent on the pitch, in terms of success. And you can’t be complacent off the pitch.”
Michael Nicholson
- Position: Chief Executive Officer
- Appointed to Board: September 2021
This one is a little easier, especially given 67 Hail Hail’s article on Nicholson’s comments made in June 2023 when Brendan Rodgers was unveiled to the press upon his return to Celtic.
That was the last time Nicholson was held accountable to the press, and his words that day have backfired on him massively.
During the press conference, Nicholson said: “I think from our perspective, the strategy has always been clear, and that’s to be a world class football club in whatever we do.
“As Brendan mentioned, we want to dominate in Scotland and compete in the Champions League, and that has been clearly stated for many, many years. So there’s no change in that regard.
“What we have done over many years is to continuously improve as a football club, to invest. We’ve got a sustainable model, a self-financing model, so we invest when we can for today, tomorrow and the long-term.
“So there’s no significant change there. And we all want the same thing, which is to win.”
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