Celtic need to clear up their Director of Football plans; it's all getting too ridiculous

By David Walton

June 2, 2021

So where do Celtic go from here in their tiresome hunt to appoint a new Director of Football?

Last night, we took a look at some of the potential runners and riders. The likes of Matteo Tognozzi, David Webb, and John Collins were all discussed. Not one of them, however, has been reported to have been approached.

Instead, we were made to believe that Fergal Harkin was the man who was coming in from Manchester City. That was only for the Irish Independent to shut that down and claim he’s committed to staying at the Etihad.

Why did we think Harkin was coming? Because he had been the man reported as being the frontrunner for months. He had also reportedly recommended Ange Postecoglou to Celtic as manager [Sky Sports].

Better yet, the Daily Record reported last week that new Chief Executive Dominic McKay was closing in on his Director of Football appointment. That couldn’t look any further from the truth now.

Celtic have yet to officially acknowledge their Director of Football intent

The sad fact is we’re actually starting to make our Director of Football pursuit seem unimportant. As if it’s a role that can be left until the last minute with no serious intent put into the search. Maybe that’s harsh on Celtic and they’re working hard behind the scenes to find the right man, but it’s all dragging a bit too long now.

The first murmurings that Celtic were looking for a DoF came all the way back in early February [Scottish Sun]. Sadly, it’s now early June, and we don’t look to be any closer to bagging our man.

Celtic should, in truth, be looking to bring their DoF in before the new manager. After all, it’s common practice for him to have a say in who the new first-team coach is. It doesn’t look as though our new sporting director will have that kind of influence. It doesn’t look as though he’ll even arrive before the next manager.

isn’t coming to Celtic / (Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)

If McKay wants to show himself to be a great communicator, he could do with coming out and informing fans of our DoF search. What’s the timeframe for the appointment? What will his main responsibilities be? Why is it taking so long to get it done?

Dermot Desmond did an interview with the club’s website back in March regarding the managerial search. Oddly, he failed to even mention a potential Director of Football when discussing what’s next for Celtic.

We need clarity and we’re simply not getting it. Not that it’ll surprise any in the Celtic support of course.

In other news, Luca Connell has admitted that he “wasn’t doing much” at Celtic last season.