McKay set for move to Celtic ahead of schedule

DOMINIC McKAY appears set to leave his role as chief operating officer of Scottish Rugby three months earlier than initially planned to take up his new job as chief executive at Celtic Football Club, with an announcement expected this week, and perhaps even this morning.

When the 43-year-old was initially unveiled as Peter Lawwell’s successor at Celtic in late January, it was stated that he would not take up the post until 1st July, however McKay and his new employers have been keen to bring that date forward as the club looks to start the recovery process following a turbulent couple of months, during which time the Scottish Premiership title has been surrendered to Rangers, manager Neil Lennon has left the club and significant unrest has been prevalent amongst the support base.

Scottish Rugby is entitled to demand that McKay – who is a lifelong Celtic fan – works his notice period, and chief executive Mark Dodson indicated in February that he was not inclined to grant an early departure, but he did not rule out that possibility so long as his business doesn’t suffer as a consequence.

“From my point of view, what’s happening at Celtic is something that is out of my control,” said Dodson. “I clearly know that Dom will have a very full in-tray when he gets there. The issue for us is that he has a notice period here and we need stability in our business too. I expect him to be here with us for a while yet.

“You’ve got to remember that we’ve got our own business to stabilise as well, so until we’ve stabilised our business, until we can replace him and make sure the business is in good enough shape, that’s the only time we’ll consider allowing Dom to move across to Celtic.”