The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
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Chairman Ian Bankier insisted that Celtic will not make “hasty decisions that we might regret” as he revealed the club’s review of performances is ongoing.
Frustration among Hoops fans surfaced earlier in the season when they were knocked out of Europe and the Betfred Cup with the chances of winning their 10th successive Scottish Premiership title slipping away to Rangers.
Following a 1-1 home draw with St Johnstone on December 6, which left the reigning champions 13 points behind their Old Firm rivals with two games in hand, and with just two wins in 12 games, the Parkhead board released another statement in support of boss Neil Lennon but stated that “progress will be reviewed in the new year”.
Since then Celtic have won the delayed Scottish Cup final against Hearts on penalties to clinch a fourth successive domestic treble but are now 18 points behind Rangers with a game in hand, albeit Lennon’s side have won their last four matches.
The Northern Irishman has remained under pressure and the board have faced calls to divulge the outcome of their review.
However, in a statement on Celtic’s official website, Bankier noted that no conclusions have been made as yet.
He said: “It is acknowledged that the season, to date, has been a disappointment. We approached it with justifiable confidence.
“Having been crowned league champions for the ninth year in a row, we looked forward to making it a quadruple treble in the delayed Scottish Cup.
“We retained a number of highly sought-after players, so as to have the strongest possible squad
going into this season. We supplemented our player pool by investing in new player registrations.
“We had in place a manager with a proven record and the core of a squad who had created history for the club.
“But the harsh reality has been that, thus far, we have not achieved the results we have sought.
“We have not met the consistently high standards that we have become accustomed to. We do not shy away from these cold facts.
“Across the plethora of media channels, comments and criticisms are instant.
“Evaluating our options in order to make the right decisions at this time in the club’s history cannot be instant.
“As things stand today, we are operating under
government-imposed restrictions with no clear horizon.
“We are in the period of review we indicated in our announcement of 7th December.
“I must state clearly that all decisions we take will be taken calmly and rationally. We will not make hasty decisions that we might regret. There is considerable uncertainty as to how and when the game will get back to normal.
“Equally, there are opportunities ahead of us, as the structure of European competitions evolves over the next three to five years.
“Amongst other things, we will be considering how to take full advantage of what comes our way.”
Celtic revealed a pre-tax loss of almost £6 million and a decrease
in revenue of almost 24% in the club’s half-year financial report.
Bankier described keeping Lennon’s squad intact in a bid to win a 10th successive Scottish Premiership title and the adverse impact of Covid-19 as “two key factors” in the Parkhead outfit’s interim report for the six months to December 31, 2020.
The report showed revenues of £40.7m (down from £53.3m in 2019) and a loss before taxation of £5.9m where there had been a 2019 profit of £24.4m.
The loss from trading, representing the loss excluding player related gains and charges, amounted to £0.3m (profit of £7.1m in 2019) and period end net cash at bank was £19.7m (£32.9m in 2019).