Desmond hits back at claim he isn’t true Celtic fan

DERMOT DESMOND, the principal Celtic shareholder, has described a claim from former Parkhead director Brian Dempsey that he is not a true supporter as “contemptible”.

And the billionaire Irish businessman also defended the financial and sporting performance of the Glasgow club during the time he has been involved and stressed he has no intention of offloading his stake despite a call from Dempsey for him to sell up to fans.

In a rare interview published on the official Celtic website yesterday, Desmond hit back at the man who helped Fergus McCann to seize control in 1994 and provided an update on the search for a new manager.

Asked about Dempsey’s accusation, he said: “This is a contemptible suggestion. I am as passionate about Celtic as any other supporter. My shares are not for sale.

“Brian Dempsey 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.”

Desmond added: “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