NOT FOR SALE
Desmond will keep hold of Celtic shares
DERMOT DESMOND has broken his silence to shoot down any suggestion he is willing to sell his stake in Celtic.
The club’s major shareholder yesterday gave a rare in-house interview in which he conceded that mistakes had been made at boardroom level this season.
The Irish billionaire confirmed that the process to identify Neil Lennon’s managerial successor was underway but did not illuminate the fan base as to when an announcement could be expected.
Desmond, though, was clear on his commitment to the club — firmly dismissing any question that he’s interested in selling his shares.
‘This is a contemptible suggestion,’ said the 70-year-old. ‘I am as passionate about Celtic as
any other supporter. My shares are not for sale.
‘Brian Dempsey, in an article in The Times, is reported to be floating the idea that fans should own the club and that we have reverted back to where we were in 1994.
‘When I think about the strength of this club today and the playing success that we have enjoyed to date, these are entirely attributable to being financially strong and being professionally managed under stable ownership.
‘When I look back at the record of the club since 2001, we have achieved remarkable success and encountered only a few setbacks along the way.
‘This season has been one of them, but it does not re-create the conditions of the early 1990s, as Mr Dempsey would like to have us believe.’
Dismayed at how a supposedly historic season unfolded, many supporters have pointed the finger of blame at the occupants of the boardroom.
Although chief executive Peter Lawwell’s 17 years at the club are now drawing to a close, the longevity of many other directors has been called into question.
But Desmond replied: ‘One of Fergus McCann’s tenets was that the club would be run professionally and that we should never return to the position he inherited where the entire existence of Celtic could be jeopardised by mismanagement and unacceptable levels of indebtedness.
‘Celtic is and will continue to be run on a meritocratic basis by the best executives available at the time. There is no member of the Celtic board that I personally knew before they were appointed.
‘We have maintained this policy and it has endured the test of time. In a professional manner, we conduct our business behind closed doors, we don’t seek public acclaim for everything we do. Critics are in no position to judge what they cannot see.
‘We are very fortunate to have Ian Bankier as our chairman and he leads a diverse and extremely talented board. We could not have had a better CEO, nor a more committed Celtic supporter than Peter Lawwell.
‘He has built a solid platform upon which our new CEO, Dominic McKay can build. With every board appointment we make, we undertake a thorough recruitment process of researching, investigating, interviewing and negotiating, unknown to all except the Celtic board members.
‘That will be the same process that is being implemented in recruiting our next manager.’
Eddie Howe, Jesse Marsch, Roy Keane, Steve Clarke and Enzo Maresca are among the names to be linked with the post.
Vague on when an announcement was likely, Desmond added: ‘As with any key appointment at Celtic, there is a process which involves research, investigation, interviewing and negotiation. This process is underway and is taking place privately and when complete, the board will make a public announcement.
‘The chairman Ian Bankier, Peter Lawwell and myself take a lead in the process, and naturally, the incoming CEO will also participate. Any decision made will require board approval.’
Deposed from their throne before the SPFL Premiership even reached the split and having performed poorly in Europe and in the Betfred Cup, Desmond (pictured) conceded that the season had fallen way short of what could reasonably be expected.
‘Firstly, the season is not over yet, as we are still in the Scottish Cup,’ he added.
‘However, my current thoughts are that this season has been extremely disappointing. Decisionmaking in football is not an exact science and I accept without qualification that we have made some wrong calls.
‘We will endeavour to learn from those. However, the conjecture coming from some journalists, commentators and pundits that they foresaw the outcome of this season is entirely disingenuous in my opinion. Regardless of whether we won the league or not this year, we knew that the 2021/22 season would be a transitional year for the team.
‘A number of the existing squad would more than likely be departing or returning to their parent clubs, but we felt that, in order to give the team the best chance of success this year to achieve the overriding ambition, we should endeavour to retain these players, despite receiving a number of substantial bids.
‘In so doing, we recognised that this would add to the recruitment requirements for the subsequent season. We recognise that we have underperformed both on and off the pitch and must do better.’
Asked what his hopes for next season were, Desmond replied: ‘That we recruit a manager that plays football the way that all Celtic supporters want and that we give that manager the time to implement their own plans. After that, I am sure much more success will follow.’
Meanwhile, former Celtic defender Paul Elliott believes former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe would be a natural fit for the role.
Speaking on the Celtic Huddle podcast, Elliott said: ‘He’s 43 years of age, has great experience as a Premier League manager with Bournemouth, is a young man, hungry and has now had time out of the game.
‘I think coming to Scotland would be a really great challenge for him. ‘Celtic is a huge club with a big fan base. I think he could come to Celtic and he could really have a positive impact.’