Hugh Keevins has called on Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson to face up to the club’s supporters and explain the underwhelming January transfer window, arguing that fans deserve answers—especially when each Champions League home game generates around £11 million in revenue.
In his Daily Record column, Keevins didn’t hold back, criticising Celtic’s failure to adequately replace Kyogo Furuhashi, who left for Rennes, and suggesting that Nicholson’s silence on transfer matters is unacceptable given the club’s financial strength and the loyalty of the fanbase.
Keevins highlighted Brendan Rodgers’ subdued demeanour during his first press conference after the window closed, suggesting the manager was privately fuming at being left “a significant man short” in attack.
Keevins argued that Rodgers shouldn’t have been the one explaining the lack of transfer activity.
“They estimate that every home game Celtic play in the Champions League brings in, give or take, £11million in revenue.
“It’s the sort of money you might pay for a player of decent quality if you were looking for one after your top goalscorer had left for another country, for example.
“Hours after Celtic’s season-ticket holders had paid up for the privilege of watching their team return to the biggest club competition of them all, Rodgers sat down inside the press room at Lennoxtown.
“And he made public his belief that the squad at his disposal was, the day after the January transfer window had closed, “lighter” than it had been when trading began on New Year’s Day. Having spent a working lifetime observing the mannerisms of every Celtic manager since Jock Stein, Rodgers’ demeanour made him, to my way of thinking, an open book.
“The Northern Irishman was seething on the inside and conciliatory on the outside so as not to create the kind of stir that would cause a distraction for his players. And that’s why Rodgers was the wrong man to be sitting in front of the assembled media discussing a transfer window that had left the manager a significant man short after the sale of Kyogo Furuhashi to Rennes.
“The occupant of the chair should have been Celtic’s chief executive Michael Nicholson. It always strikes me that Nicholson is to public speaking what US president Donald Trump is to international diplomacy. He does not see it as his chosen, or specialised, field.
“There was the one-liner about Rangers and dodgy penalties at an annual general meeting of shareholders a while ago. But, other than that, Michael doesn’t appear to feel the need to engage with the Celtic fans.
“I think if you fork out £11m in gate money for one match that makes you more than just a customer. You are actually a wealth provider for a club with tens of millions of pounds in the bank – more than all of the clubs in the SPFL put together.
“That makes you entitled to an explanation of what went wrong with regard to the January transfer window. Or is it just me?”
Keevins’ comments will resonate with many Celtic supporters who feel frustrated by the lack of ambition in the January window. With the team heading into a crucial Champions League clash against Bayern Munich and fighting on domestic fronts, the squad feels “lighter” than it should be.
Whether or not Nicholson breaks his silence remains to be seen; he probably won’t, but the pressure from fans and now pundits is only going to grow if Celtic’s lack of January reinforcements proves costly in the weeks ahead.
Keevins is a nobody. He is just stirring it up. Ignore everything he says.