Celtic fans ready to 'pounce' on board as unrest remains after latest protests

Celtic fans are still waiting for an opportunity to heap further on their board after they confirmed the decision to keep Martin O'Neill as manager.

That is according to former Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that tensions are waiting to flare up between the supporters and the club hierarchy "as soon as anything goes wrong."

The board at Parkhead finally settled the uncertainty regarding who will be leading the team next season, as they persuaded O'Neill to continue for another year earlier this week.

Wyness has made it clear that he is not surprised by that outcome, but feels that it will not keep the peace for long at Celtic Park if things don't improve.

Recent talks with Robbie Keane regarding the managerial role were met with protest from some sections of supporters, who were unhappy with his previous involvement as boss of Maccabi Tel Aviv.

While the supporters ultimately got their desired outcome on this occasion, it was another example of the anger that has been building up behind the scenes.

Celtic board to tread 'very carefully' in the coming months

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 the lack of trust towards the board comes from their recent mistakes.

They moved to appoint Wilfried Nancy went disastrously wrong last term, and Wyness is clear that their standing with the fans has never really recovered from that moment.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, he made it clear that the Bhoys hierarchy must tread "very carefully" in the build-up to next season.

"To keep peace, they had to try and keep Martin (O'Neill) involved in some way," Wyness said.

"The Celtic board have shown with Wilfried Nancy, that they are capable of making big mistakes. And so, they should be thinking very carefully after this appointment.

"There is a very unhappy situation with the fan base, and they'll pounce on the board as soon as anything goes wrong at all."

Celtic finally ready to overcome signing hurdle

Wyness previously told Football Insider that Celtic would struggle to add new faces to their squad without knowing who would be their manager next term.

The Glasgow giants moved to tie Yang Hyun-Jun down to a new contract recently, but Wyness believes that deals like that in the interest of "asset protection" are the only ones that can safely be completed without a manager.

He made it clear that signing new players without a manager in place can often course discourse between the boss and the board later down the line.

However, Celtic's move to keep O'Neill will now see them overcome that hurdle at a welcome moment, with the summer transfer window set to open on 15 June.