Drooling Daily Record hack paints Nicholson as the hero of Tannadice

Ryan McDonald of the Daily Record barely needs any encouragement to sing the praises of Michael Nicholson.

Any sort of good news around Celtic and the Daily Record reporter will insert his hoops hero CEO into the front of the story.

Recruitment problems? Well that is up to Martin O’Neill or Brendan Rodgers.

McDonald is the rising star in the fast sinking Daily Record. Now printed in Oldham print circulation is fast heading towards 20,000.

Despite that the Record sent McDonald out to the Algarve to cover Celtic’s pre-season training camp and match against Sporting. He had veteran Michael Gannon to show him the ropes.

The lads filled their boots with player interviews. Plus so much Martin O’Neill content that they agreed to spread it over a few days.

The Albufeira Four cemented things over a good few nights out. The Celtic boss enjoyed that so much that he referenced it twice at the media conference following the draw with Middlesbrough.

Watching Celtic win 4-0 at Dundee United on Saturday McDonald decided to introduce his match report with praise for the £17,000 a week CEO.

Michael Nicholson didn’t know where to look during Celtic’s last trip to Tannadice in March.

After watching the Hoops crumble to a damaging 2-0 defeat, the under-fire chief executive and his boardroom chums were vilified by a section of raging diehards.

Almost all Celtic fans Ryan, not just those nasty ‘raging diehards’.

Fast forward five months and the Parkhead supremo could have watched on from the director’s box with a cigar in his mouth as Martin O’Neill’s rampant side banished those demons and cruised into the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals.

Maybe bouncing around Bolonga blootered but Nicholson just doesn’t seem the cigar type. Perhaps McDonald knows better.

It just goes to show what a difference some quality additions can make.

Yes it is a fairly well established fact.

A £23million attacking overhaul featuring record signing Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran and Haissem Hassan has transformed the mood around Glasgow’s east end.

That’s the sort of ambition Celtic supporters have been rightly crying out for.

As they were a year ago when Nicholson snapped up Shin Yamada, Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Sebastian Tounekti.

Followed in January by Junior Adamu, Tomas Cvancara and Joel Mvuka. Cheers Michael.

If punters had a penny for every time former boss Brendan Rodgers publicly pleaded for “quality” signings, they’d be millionaires.

And while fans have been protesting against the hierarchy with the Not Another Penny campaign – boycotting merchandise and sales – shirts could soon be flying off the shelves if O’Neill’s new Bhoys continue hitting the ground running.

Not a chance, a trickle maybe. A return to merch sales at 24/25 levels? More chance of Nicholson inviting fan media reporters around and broadcasting it live on You Tube.

But Nicholson still has plenty of work to do in the transfer market.

Yeah you could say that. Since the appointment of Mark Lawwell in July 2022 things have been going in one direction.

The £22m sale of Arne Engels to West Ham on Saturday night has injected another sizeable wad of cash into Celtic’s coffers.

Celtic’s coffers were already sizeable. So sizeable that HMRC regularly gets paid 10% of turnover in Corporation Tax. The team needed Engels more than the bank balance needed another top up.

And with Paulo Bernardo also out the door and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suspended for the crucial Champions League play-off, O’Neill could really do with another star man in the middle of the park.

Plus a first choice right-back and a ready to play winger. A decent back up left-back and goalie. Known facts since May.

The veteran gaffer was caught on the hop after learning Oxlade-Chamberlain would miss the LASK double-header as the 33-year-old serves a surprise three-game suspension dating back to his time at Besiktas in 2023.

What about the CEO. Was he not caught on the hop?

THE CEO THAT BRINGS NOTHING TO THE TABLE