Dermot Desmond 'personally embarrassed' after Celtic discord takes new twist
Celtic have no choice but to begin "consultations" with their fanbase in an attempt to reconcile their relationship with the club hierarchy.
That is according to former Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the recent protests against owner Dermot Desmond must be the final straw in the feud.
The Irish businessman saw his round disrupted at the Alfred Dunhill Links golf championship last weekend, as Celtic fans threw tennis balls onto the course.
Wyness believes that Desmond was "personally embarrassed" by the incident, but feels that he and the board must swallow their pride and make the first move.
Leading Celtic figures have been locked in a bitter war with the club's supporters in the last 12 months, as there have been several protests directed towards the ownership.
However, Wyness believes that there is now no choice for the board other than to reach out an arm and attempt to start repairing the relationship.
Celtic must 'take sting' out of fans' anger
Aberdeen's former chief Wyness - who served as CEO at Pittodrie between 2000 and 2004 and now runs a consultancy business advising elite clubs - believes that Celtic simply have to start trying to "take the sting" out of the issues with their supporters.
He also noted that a move of that ilk would simply have to start from Desmond at the top of the club, despite his recent scathing statement in reaction to the protests.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness explained how a line must now be drawn by the club
"I think he's been going to the Dunhill for over 20 years, and it's something he personally enjoys, and he would have felt personally embarrassed that he was the reason that the event was disrupted," he said.
"But Celtic and the board, as I say, somebody has got to start the consultation process to try and take the sting out of this. All both sides are doing is just going further and further and ramping things up all the way.
"They're eating themselves. And I'm afraid if you're the owner, it's got to come to you to be the one that starts to fix things."
'Furious' Dermot Desmond has made 'huge mistake'
Wyness told Football Insider earlier this week that Desmond has made a "huge strategic mistake" with the tone of the club's statement in the aftermath of the protests.
The Bhoys strongly condemned their fans' actions, and also outlined that they will no longer consider the Celtic Fans Collective as an official voice for their support.
Wyness believes that the statement was inevitably "ordered" by Desmond, given the anger and venom that it was written with.
The boardroom expert suggested that Celtic shouldn't have really got involved in the incident, considering that the protest happened away from the club.