Celtic Take Giant Step Forward

The chasm between the club and the supporters has widened this year after a season of discontent.

Celtic took a tentative but massive step on Friday afternoon when they invited a group of Celtic fan media outlets to participate in their own press conference with David Turnbull and John Kennedy.

We were delighted to be among the participants in the remote press conference. Around 11 outlets from online publications to podcasts were in attendance – everyone dialled in having one thing in common – they were all Celtic fans.

The press conference went off without a hitch, the media team at Celtic organising things well and fan media doing their part to ask the questions we KNOW supporters would like to be answered.

If there was any trepidation from Celtic’s side about how fans would get on having a direct link to the manager, it was surely gone by the end of the conference. John Kennedy spoke very well and there wasn’t one question asked which was innocuous or fishing for a particular narrative.

Questions over Vasilis Barkas, James Forrests recovery, training, tactics and engagement with the support were all on the table and answered by the interim Celtic boss.

Fan media has taken on a life of its own; no doubt if you’re reading this you read many other Celtic focused publications and you at least take in one or two of the many podcasts on offer from the Celtic faithful.

Celtic embracing fan media helps repair a direct link between the club and the support and allows us to give you information from the horse’s mouth without it going through any mainstream media spin machine.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re not a proponent of Celtic ignoring the mainstream media, we just believe if they want to get information out to the fans, events like Friday afternoon is a fantastic way forward.

Well done to everyone involved on the day. The reaction from our followers and many Celtic supporters online has almost been universally positive.