Lord Willie Haughey has told Celtic supporters to “back off” in their criticism of Dermot Desmond, urging them to remember the club’s domestic success under his stewardship.
The former non-executive director came to the defence of Celtic’s largest shareholder amid mounting pressure from fans calling for a change at the top.
The fans are keen to move on to those currently at the club. Starting with Lawwell, Nicholson, and McKay, they want a total refresh.
Speaking to PLZ, via RecordSport, Haughey said: “It looks like peace is breaking out. I saw Brendan’s last press comments were good and it looks as if there’s a bit of healing. Hopefully that is the case.
“Everybody is disappointed to go out of the Champions League and in a couple of the performances but overall, if you think about the 30 years before that and all the hard times, we’ve actually been spoilt the last 15 years or so.
“I would just say that Dermot and his involvement with the club has put us where we are. Let’s back off a wee bit and keep supporting the team.”
Haughey’s defence of Desmond strikes at the heart of the divide between boardroom and supporters. The club hierarchy point to Celtic’s domestic dominance: 42 trophies since the turn of the century, eight doubles, multiple trebles, and the historic quadruple treble.
But for many fans, those medals do not excuse repeated European failings. Celtic have now failed to qualify for the Champions League group stages via the play-offs seven times in the last 12 years, under four different managers. Each has spoken about the delays in transfer business that left them underprepared.
That frustration has reached boiling point this season, with organised fan protests, votes of no confidence, and open letters demanding reform. For many, Haughey’s comments only underline the sense that the club’s leadership is out of touch with the expectations of modern Celtic supporters.
His Lordship has obviously lost his Rebel spirit, since joining the British establishment. Shame really.
Hail Hail.
I thought Lord Haughey might be at Windsor this week. Dermot is not above criticism. Celtic fans want to see proper preparation for the CL, we want to see business completed professionally and quickly. We want ambition. We want a youth system similar to Ajax, Club Brugge and other ambitious clubs. There is no framework at Celtic Park that suggests that the Celtic Board have any interest in establishing the club in Europe. There is a Board that has to be driven, by mass criticism, to bring itself to communicate with fans.
Maybe he has a better in sight to the clubs workings than a bunch of anarchist not all supporters are of a mind of the green brigade mostly the ultras bunch of teenagers and early twenties egged on by wannae bee MP attach themselves to Celtic FC for a platform to fly there political flags if they do it outside parliament or City Chambers they would be lucky to get half a dozen people to bother with it but at Celtc FC home and away they have live tv dont you agree