GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 02: Celtic Chief Executive Officer Michael Nicholson during a UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD2 match between Celtic and SC Braga at Celtic Park, on October 02, 2025, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ross MacDonald/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Michael Nicholson went AWOL as Celtic presented a new management team to the media.
Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney made for a very unconvincing front as the ‘interim management team’.
Celtic would like supporters to think that it is a short term arrangement with O’Neill the senior figure boosted by the younger energy, ideas and legs of Maloney in and around the dressing room.
OPEN SECRET
From the moment that Maloney returned to Celtic in the summer as Player Development Manager it was an open secret that he was being lined up as Plan B when the board pushed Brendan Rodgers too far.
Maloney is front and centre with O’Neill for media consumption only. He played the role of friendly old uncle perfectly today.
Putting himself down at every turn, talking up the youth of those asking questions. Oh how we laughed.
And there was no sign of the CEO. The man paid £1m a year for leadership and decision making.
Nicholson was almost certainly in the building. Watch a live feed from his office. No one in the invited audience mentioned his name.
A complete outsider would assume that kindly uncle Martin was in charge of the club.
In over four years draining a salary out of Celtic Nicholson has made one media appearance.
SILENT MIKE
In June 2023 he sat beside Rodgers and Chairman Peter Lawwell introducing a new era. Celtic’s ambitions? To be world class in everything that they do.
Last night a non-executive director issued an incredible statement that could well result in legal action. Presumably with the full approval of the CEO.
Celtic have still to announce the date of their 2025 AGM, with every delay the situation at the club gets worse. More so with the CEO hiding behind his White Board and Post-It notes.
There are four matches to get through before the next international break. After the treatment of Rodgers no credible candidate will go near the managerial vacancy.
The meeting will take place on Friday, November 21, at Celtic Park, starting at 10.30am.
2 1/4 hours ago.
Have you got that?
If anyone was in any doubt about how much the SMSM was enjoying the omnishambles inside Celtic FC right now the evidence was in your face obvious on the deplorably bad Stv tonight . Tin tin from the programme had the biggest Cheshire Cat grin on his boat while he informed the public about the news emanating from Celtic . This was a double rollover jackpot lotto win for this clown ,who was patently enjoying the disorder . This will roll on oh so slowly as the snide scoops are having a field day with the story .
Keiran McKenna being touted allegedly. Probs because like Russell Martin he took a team up to the Premiership then back down again. If MON’s comments on Sky Sports tonight are true ie that Celtic are looking for a young manager with a decent CV, then surely the Board would be open to accusations of discrimination? Is that also in keeping with Nicholson’s tripe about being world class in all we do,despite us not being world class at anything. What about looking for a top manager with a fabby CV irrespective of age? That to me translates as let’s go for somebody we can keep in his place. Maybe they are trying to project that they are now modern and hip with a young guy at the helm. That comment, if true, seems to rule out Ange as he is 60 and they would not want to experience him again what with him probably wanting to spend money to get decent players. Club is a shambles and I hope, if he has a genuine legal case, that Brendan sues the arses off them. As I have said on here a few times I dont know why he didnt sue them and or the Sun when that unsubstantiated story was published.
Editor: No competent candidate with prospects will go near the Nicholson/Lawwell/Desmond magic triangle.
Who would you suggest should be the next Celtic manager after Brendan then Editor? Give us a few names who you think would be suitable for the post, in your opinion.
Have you got that?
Lucan the fuckin Coward vanishes once again…
Paddy Stewart has more teresterone in his wee toenail than this yellow bastard has in every single breath of his body that he’s exhaled in his 47 fuckin years !
You showed Martin Oneill, a Celtic legend zero respect in your article, uncle martin et al. You are no Celtic fan, maybe you were but i assure you, you have lost your way.
If we lose the league, you and your idiot collective will be as culpable as our underinvesting board twats
1. Who is gona want the Celtic job when they watch weekly protests
2. its beyond ridiculous that you are praising brendan rodgers, he is a self serving fudd, he proved it last time when he walked out mid-season, please stop creating this narrative that he is a martyr, he would probably step on his granny to get the right job, he does not have one jot of Celtic in his blood
3. What DD said about rodgers is libelous, if rodgers takes him to court, everything will come out in court as to what happened behind closed doors, if rodgers doesnt take legal action, you have your answer, and it might even suggest rodgers managed his exit via poor results.
4. your protests which are absolutely right and merited, but just done in the wrong way, are harming our club, and possibly gifting hearts the league – is that really what you want?
5. the smsm are playing the perfect game of divide and conquer, and every one of you idiots in the collective, are being played like fiddles, so much so that you actually believe rodgers is the celtic loving victim in all of this (see point 2).
Hopefully you wake up before we have to watch hearts lift the league.
Try to be smart, what do the board thrive on? Results or money in the bank?
Money is all they understand!
Dont buy any merch all season, but ffs please dont give the team 63% backing whilst the other 37% is devoted to protesting, which only serves to make our players edgy.
Support the team, starve the board
What’s your alternative to protesting then John Murf. Let’s all ignore the board who are destroying the club and shout and sing for project players. Thats a brilliant idea, not. The Celtic jersey doesn’t shrink to fit inferior players but Adidas might make three smaller kits a year if we don’t get the board out. Not having a dig at the new management team, but I remember a legend mentoring an inexperienced head coach before and it ended in us getting pumped out of the cup by Inverness Caley. If you want something badly enough sometimes you have to fight for it.
If all fans dont buy any merch, the clubs biggest sponsor will put pressure on the board, likewise, if the fans get behind the team and just dont buy merch, it will reflect in the boards coveted accounts. A board sandwich if you will..
We all want to fight for change at board level, we all want decent players signed at the start of the window….. but do we really want to risk handing the league to hearts? Do we really want to stop another attempt at 10 in a row??
Give the SMSM exactly what it is conspiring to acheive???
Honestly if i didnt know any better id swear some rangers affiliated hynpotist had worked his magic on the celtic fanbase
This is classic turkeys voting for Christmas!
And who in their right mind will want to come to manage our club in the midst of a war between fans and board.
Thnx Peter, we’d never have worked that out ourselves.
Please apologise on our behalf to CQN and other likeminded bloggers.
We’ll be more careful in future.
Sanctimonious twat.
It could be reasonable to surmise (?) that the unwise DD statement planted on the club website,
and the absence of the CEO to present the interim team,
indicates that MN just doesn’t want to be CEO – even on his ridiculous salary and bonus?
Has the pressure got to him…?
David Low seemed to think last week there is boardroom change coming watching the share price, and reiterated it after Rodgers ‘resigned’. Do you think the absence of Lawell and Nicholson could be part of a wider cull or are just hiding until the storm blows over? Legitimate question. I get Desmond couldn’t care less what we think but I could see a scenario where everybody gets the road and another raft of cardboard cutouts put in place to make him look ruthless and appease fans, much like the O’Neill appointment.
Editor: In times of trouble there are always messages getting sent out of ‘Don’t worry there will soon be change’ ‘ don’t worry he will be stepping down’. They are all standing again at the AGM.
Hi Joe , I asked you to clarify Celtics position with regards board changes & Stock Exchange , I’ve a feeling that we are going to get the news we all want , you hear all sorts of rumours about who’s coming & going, D D looks like making some changes, hence the reason why the AGM is late . ?
Editor: It would be great to see Lawwell and Nicholson leave but we have 17 years of Lawwell appointments in every position at the club that need cleared out. Small steps welcome.