Celtic chiefs respond after sitting through grilling from fans
Celtic chief Michael Nicholson has spoken following a grilling from a Celtic supporters club on Monday night. Nicholson and Martin O'Neill were among the Celtic officials who attended a supporters' night at Greenock Celtic Supporters' Club, while other fans from the local area were also invited.
Fans took advantage of the situation, with a whopping 150 minutes of grilling unfolding, and to their credit, they saw out the event.
Board members have been slammed by fans for their lack of communication, and the club is at tipping point with its supporters, with performances on the pitch not helping the situation.
Most fans feel the club should be showing more ambition, and that an effective recruitment strategy during the summer transfer window was not too much to ask for.
The Bhoys cost themselves Champions League qualification due to their lack of investment in playing staff, and their failure to properly invest since has likely cost them advancement in the Europa League.
Fans are dying to ask questions over the board, who have not explained their decision-making, but those in attendance on Monday night will likely have been given some insight to that.
And Nicholson has praised those who attended the evening for their conduct. He said: "Everyone in the room wants the best for Celtic and that was evident. We are grateful for supporters’ input and look forward to continuing to meet with supporters as we work on improving communication and engagement in the weeks and months ahead."
Interim chairman Brian Wilson added: "We didn’t expect an easy ride and didn’t get one, but the meeting was conducted in a constructive and mutually respectful way and the messages delivered by supporters will be taken on board and learned from."
Celtic have an AGM coming up before the end of the year, and this event is a step in the right direction ahead of that. Fans are hoping majority shareholder Dermot Desmond will attend for the first time in two decades, but it is unlikely he will.
Last year's AGM became a mess when fan representatives reacted negatively to a statement issued by Ross Desmond, but the Celtic Fans Collective have made it clear that the aim this time is to maintain civilised throughout so that the board do not have any sort of excuse to cut the meeting short, given they clearly don't need much of one.
Details of the AGM should emerge in the next couple of weeks.
