Dermot Desmond doesn’t own 100% of Celtic, but he has 100% of the say.
The Irish billionaire has been involved in the day-to-day running of the club for decades, playing a leading role in both appointments of Brendan Rodgers.
So when Celtic fans protest against the club’s board, their message is really aimed at Desmond – he holds the keys.
Rodgers has further fuelled the narrative that he was under-equipped for the season by saying he had been given the keys to a ‘Honda Civic’ after the Hoops’ defeat to Dundee.
So eyes are firmly still on the Hoops board, after months of protests and a few attempts at dialogue. For Peter Grant, Desmond could take a leaf out of Rangers’ book.
Peter Grant on Celtic ‘head honcho’ Dermot Desmond
Celtic fans threw small balls onto the pitch at the beginning of the Dundee encounter, delaying the beginning of the game by a few minutes.
It was yet another demonstration of discontent with the club’s higher management.
READ MORE: Si Ferry wants Ange Postecoglou back at Celtic as he ‘can’t watch’ Brendan Rodgers’ side
For Grant, there is a need for Desmond to come out and answer supporters’ questions, due to his position as the ‘head honcho’.
Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, he even mentioned the Rangers management’s handling of their ongoing crisis.
He said: “Of course, I think it’s important for the football club. Sometimes you’ve got to stand up, because they want to hear the head honcho.
“They want to hear the manager talking about the team. They want to hear Dermot talking about the club. And then that’s it, answer the questions you’re getting asked.
“Because I’m sure that a lot of the questions that will be getting asked will be football-orientated – ‘Why didn’t they do this, why didn’t they do that, what was the reason’. Give them an explanation.
“I can only read the text like everyone else, when it says that [Nicholson] shrugged his shoulders. I don’t know. But the bottom line is, someone has to come out.
“If you look at Rangers across the road, they’ve all come out today and faced it up. Thelwell has come out and faced it up, whether they get it right or wrong. Because if they keep getting it wrong, they’ll not be there anyway.
“And that’s the same at Celtic. These guys want the answers for what happened in the summer, why was it the way it is, and they never got them. And that’s the frustration.”
Celtic fans vs the board this season
Celtic fans have mobilised to an extent that we haven’t seen in the modern era, beginning with an open letter sent to the club’s board after failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Celtic’s response, a deflective statement released on a Saturday night, did not rub fans up the right way. This is when in-stadium protests were planned.
Against Kilmarnock and Partick Thistle, fans’ opinions were made absolutely clear – and whilst this wasn’t quite the entire support, it was certainly more than just smaller groups that have led protests in the past.
Further dialogue led to a meeting between the Celtic Fans Collective and the board a few months ago, but with the ‘Not Another Penny’ boycott campaign now announced, this saga is far from over.
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