As recently as October Dermot Desmond reassured Celtic fans about the fantastic structure of the club.
It came soon after the resignation of Brendan Rodgers. The outgoing manager has said nothing about the circumstances that led to that decision.
Desmond didn’t hold back in his criticism of Rodgers. The manager that delivered 11 out of 13 domestic trophies.
More important than that the former Liverpool boss delivered 12 Champions League points in the new look 24/25 format.
That delivered five sell-out home matches including a Last 16 Play Off against Bayern Munich. Giddy heights.
All driven by a manager. In June 2023 Rodgers made it clear that making an impact in Europe was a huge factor in his decision to return to Celtic.
Rodgers delivered that in season 24/25 funded by the sale of Matt O’Riley. A player transformed the previous season.
THE PERFECT CELTIC STRUCTURE BUILT BY DESMOND
Despite his success within budget Rodgers wasn’t backed to go again.
The money from selling Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah was almost all banked.
In the final days of the transfer window £10m was thrown at Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Sebastian Tounekti. Three Celtic managers never had faith in either of those club signings.
Martin O’Neill salvaged a double from a season of chaos.
Since the Scottish Cup Final win five weeks ago Celtic have done absolutely nothing.
Complacency reigns. It dominates every aspect of the club. From the very top downwards, led by Desmond.
On October 27, shortly after the announcement that Rodgers had resigned Dermot Desmond took over the club website:
Celtic’s structure — where the manager oversees football, the Chief Executive manages operations, and the Board provides oversight — has served the club with great success for more than two decades. We all share the same ambition: to ensure Celtic’s continued success domestically and to achieve further progress in Europe. Every pound generated by the club is reinvested towards those goals and the continuous improvement of Celtic Football Club.
Celtic is greater than any one person. Our focus now is on restoring harmony, strengthening the squad, and continuing to build a club worthy of its values, traditions, and supporters.
To achieve further progress in Europe? £11.4m of the pounds earned by the club in 24/25 was paid to HMRC in Corporation Tax.
Success in Europe would require winning more than 12 Champions League points.
In just over six weeks Celtic face a Champions League Play Off tie over two legs.
Against an unseeded but organised and ambitious club. One that has been aiming for the Champions League group phase for months. A club like Kairat Almaty.
It took until the day before pre-season training for Martin O’Neill to get deals for three of the four coaches that assisted him last season.
COUNTDOWN TO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF
Desmond highlighted the Celtic structure that has delivered success for two decades.
The structure that has failed to navigate Champions League qualifying seven times in their last nine attempts.
That has lost out to Kairat, Midtjylland, Ferencvaros, Cluj, AEK Athens, Malmo and Maribor. None of those clubs has ever paid their CEO £3.5m in a single season.
So far Celtic have failed to sign a single player in 2026.
As It Stands Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are no longer at the club.
By the time the summer transfer window finishes any combination of Daizen Maeda, Arne Engels, Alistair Johnston and Ben Nygren could be elsewhere. O’Neill doesn’t rate Reo Hatate or Paulo Bernardo.
The successful structure that Desmond boasted about is soon going to be tested to the full.
If Celtic fail in season 26/27 many will conclude that the structure collapsed when Rodgers was pushed into resigning.
