The familiar face of Dermot Desmond was, in Martin O’Neill’s words, the primary reason for his return to Celtic this season.
O’Neill felt that he owed Desmond a favour, 25 years on from being handed his career-defining opportunity to manage the club in the first place.
A figure as loved as O’Neill quickly became a unifying presence for the Celtic support, expertly navigating both of his interim spells so far.
But after Thursday’s bleak defeat to Stuttgart, he divided opinion for the first time since returning; by vehemently condemning the Celtic fan protest which delayed the start of the game.
In telling some supporters that they ‘need their heads examined’ for their action, he has rubbed them up the wrong way.
His words contrasted heavily to the reaction of a previous manager to a very similar protest earlier in the season.
After seeing the protests at Celtic Park, did you agree with them?
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The difference between Brendan Rodgers’ and Martin O’Neill’s Celtic protest responses
In mid-October, Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic were beaten by Dundee, in the club’s first Dens Park defeat in 37 years.
Away fans delayed the start of the game by throwing balls onto the pitch in an essentially identical protest to what we saw on Thursday.
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After the defeat, Rodgers was asked if the protest had an effect on his players.
He said: “Listen, I’m not going to tell the supporters what to do. They’re frustrated, of course. They’re the heart of this club.
“I’d just say that after that, we still had a long, long period of time to put a performance, and we didn’t do that… so it’s on us.”
Just over a week later, Rodgers was gone, with a scathing attack from Desmond making the extent of internal tensions clear for all to see.
This is not an attempt to make one response seem better than the other – neither is ideal – but they are both examples of the same problem: managing Celtic in the media has become an impossible job.
In the absence of a public-facing board spokesperson, it is the man in the dugout who is expected to bridge an insurmountable gap between the board and the support, solely through their communication.
Desmond’s statement, as well as his son Ross’s extraordinary speech at the Celtic AGM, were both clear signs that the club will point in every direction to deflect the blame for their own model.
The finger was firmly pointed at Rodgers in October, it was pointed at supporters at the AGM.
Now, a club legend in O’Neill has, consciously or not, found himself on one side of the divide.
How do Celtic fans get the board to listen to their concerns?
Let us know in the comments below…
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