‘Celtic could have announced Peter Lawwell exit in bombshell AGM’ with Martin O’Neill appointment mooted
Celtic were forced to abandon their annual AGM meeting last Friday after some explosive events at Celtic Park.
The board came under fire from the fans during the meeting, with cries of ‘sack the board’ regularly heard and red cards held aloft in the direction of the club hierarchy.
The meeting was adjourned for 30 minutes by chairman Peter Lawwell, who was ultimately left with no choice but to abandon proceedings after a statement from Ross Desmond was met with laughter and discontent.
Desmond defended the actions of the Celtic board in the face of the supporters, and the manner of his words has prompted plenty of frustration over the weekend.
Martin O’Neill continued his bright start in interim charge of the team with a 1-0 win at St Mirren on Saturday, but there has now been further scrutiny on the bombshell AGM on Monday.
Keith Jackson moots Martin O’Neill appointment on the Celtic board
Celtic are expected to announce the appointment of Wilfried Nancy in the near future, with O’Neill’s tenure as temporary boss likely to almost be over.
The 73-year-old has steadied the ship on the pitch amid all the uncertainty towards those at the top of the club, and has always had a great reputation among the supporters.
However, the former Aston Villa boss could easily have had his role drastically changed during the AGM, had events played out slightly differently, according to Keith Jackson.
The Daily Record journalist feels that Desmond could have come up with a clever “compromise” during Friday’s AGM, rather than approaching his statement in the “antagonistic” manner that he did.
Jackson suggested that the board could have announced that Lawwell would step down from his role, with the same fate potentially befalling chief executive Michael Nicholson.
He feels that O’Neill could then have been used as a “unifying figure” to step into a boardroom role and be appointed to try and restore the harmony within the club from a key role behind the scenes.
However, the reality is that Desmond approached the explosive situation completely differently and only served to add further fuel to the fire in the fans’ eyes.
O’Neill’s position is uncertain ahead of Feyenoord clash
O’Neill has done an excellent job at Celtic on the domestic front of late, as he has now guided them to four consecutive wins in Premiership action.
However, he is still seemingly no closer to learning whether he will be required for much longer at Parkhead.
The Bhoys face a tricky assignment away at Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday evening, and it remains unclear whether it will be O’Neill in the dugout for that clash or whether his successor will be appointed and ready to go.
Nancy has been the clear frontrunner to take on the role in recent weeks, but the drama of the AGM has dominated the thinking at the club over the weekend.
It was seemingly a hugely chaotic morning for everybody involved, and the lasting effects look set to be hugely damaging for the board moving forward.