What an acceptable response from Celtic Board would look like

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The Celtic Star

·7 settembre 2025

What an acceptable response from Celtic Board would look like

Late on Saturday evening, the Celtic Board issued a feeble and inadequate response to the letter addressed to them from an array of supporter groups and fan media…

Celtic v St Mirren – Peter Lawwell and Michael Nicholson in the stands during the cinch Premiership match at Celtic Park, Wednesday November 1, 2023. Photo Andrew Milligan

The Board’s response (or lack of!) avoided answering the numerous concerns put to them in the supporter affiliation letter, which asked seven questions in relation to:

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The club’s long term football strategy
A lack of investment in critical positions (outlined by Brendan Rodgers)3.
Accountability for failures in the transfer market, which meant the team was unprepared for the qualifiers
Plans to modernise the club’s structure in order to compete in Europe and be prepared for Champions League qualifiers
The findings of last year’s fan survey
The results of the Fairhurst Enquiry
The club’s resistance to engaging with supporters on issues such as improving atmosphere inside the stadium and ticket pricing

Instead of accepting responsibility, addressing supporter concerns and ultimately, providing ‘a way forward’, the cowards in the boardroom blamed everybody but themselves, including mainstream and social media, other clubs, players and agents.

They even had the audacity to cite UEFA’s Profit and Sustainability Rules as the reason why they do not spend more money: a total lie for a cash rich club like Celtic that is in absolutely no danger of breaching PSR. They spent over £10m towards the end of the window (signings that could and should have been made prior to the qualifiers).

Furthermore, not one board member’s name was added as a signatory to the letter so no accountability or responsibility has been taken by anyone at the club.

Instead of appeasing an already enraged fan base, they have added more fuel to the blazing firestorm that is heading their way!

Celtic Chairman Peter Lawwell and Chief Executive Michael Nicholson in the directors box. Celtic v Kilmarnock, Cinch Scottish Premiership, 17 February 2024. Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock

If I were to put myself in the position of a Celtic Board member that truly had the club’s best interests at heart, this would be my response to the fans’ letter:

Dear Celtic supporters around the world,

Thank you for letter expressing your concerns regarding the operations of the club.

We appreciate that this has been a very frustrating time for you all, especially the club’s failure to strengthen the playing squad in time for our Champions League qualifier.

As a collective, the Celtic Board accepts full accountability and responsibility for this failure.

Please be ensured that a full inquest will be held into our football operations, most especially our recruitment strategy to ensure that we give ourselves the best chance possible of reaching the Champions League next season and beyond.

We also acknowledge that in recent years, there has been an increasing chasm between the Board and supporters: something that we must address for the greater good of Celtic Football Club.

In response to your questions, here is our response:

1) For many years , Celtic has operated within its means. This has created a sustainable business model which has enabled the club to achieve continued success on and off the park in a highly dynamic global football environment.

However, we recognise that what worked in the past may not be relevant now or in the future. Subsequently, the club will assess the effectiveness of its football operational structure, including personnel, scouting, our academy, coaching and recruitment.

As many of you have expressed previously, we can confirm that we aim to create a new position by appointing a Director of Football before the end of the calendar year to help us modernise our operation and strategy.

2) We acknowledge that the club failed to invest adequately and in a timely manner throughout the summer. This had a huge impact on our failure to qualify for the Champions League. As a result, we cannot allow this to happen again.

The Board recognises that a change in policy (i.e. greater investment earlier in the transfer window) is required to ensure the continued progression of Celtic both domestically and in Europe.

3) As outlined above, the Board takes full accountability and responsibility for Celtic’s failure to qualify for this season’s Champions League as a result of our recruitment strategy. We will do everything we can to ensure we do not repeat these mistakes again in the future.

4) As discussed, the club will conduct a full inquest into its current football operations and consider ways to maximise its potential moving forward. A new Director of Football will help us achieve this.

5) The Board apologises for not publishing the results of last year’s fan survey that so many of you took the time to answer. We aim to do so by the end of September. Your views will be taken into full consideration and implemented where possible.

6) We also apologise for not publishing the results of the Fairhurst Enquiry sooner. It is the club’s responsibility to ensure the safety and fair treatment of our supporters both inside and outside of the stadium. These findings will be made public as soon as possible (this should be around mid-October).

7) The ever increasing chasm between the Celtic Board and our supporters has been to the detriment of everyone and the benefit of no one.

Whilst we may not always see eye-to-eye, we realise that Celtic Football Club is far stronger when the Board, management, players and supporters are united.

Moving forward, we promise to be more welcoming and engaging with our world renowned supporters to provide the best match day experience for everyone.

We hope that we have addressed your concerns and provided you with a clear and progressive strategy for moving the club forward.

Yours Faithfully,

The Celtic Board PLC:

Michael Nicholson (Chief Executive)

Peter Lawwell (Chairman)

Chris McKay (Chief Financial Officer)

Dermott Desmond (Largest Shareholder)

Summary

Peter Lawwell, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Nicholson (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Unfortunately, this is not the response we received but wouldn’t it be refreshing is it was?

Imagine if the Board took accountability for the club’s shortcomings. Imagine if they came up with a clear vision and strategy for moving the club forward – always aiming to progress so it can be the best version of itself. Imagine if they respected and even embraced the Celtic support through communication and engagement. Imagine…

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope one day they’ll join us and the club will live as one.

Mark Nicholas

READ THIS…What Celtic supporters demand is realistic, intelligent spending

Celtic in the Eighties – Out Now!…

Celtic in the Eighties by the late, great David Potter is out now on Celtic Star Books. Celtic in the Eighties is now available in the Celtic superstore and all other club shops. And don’t forget that you can still purchase your copy directly from Celticstarbooks.com for same day postage.