‘It’s amazing’ – Keith Wyness reveals what he was personally told by insider about just-sacked Celtic man
Paul Tisdale was fired by Celtic due to Wilfried Nancy’s disastrous reign at the Glasgow club but there was more to his hiring than meets the eye.
That is according to ex-Aberdeen, Aston Villa, and Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, after Wilfried Nancy was sacked by Celtic just 33 days into the role.
Celtic announced the departure of Tisdale as Head of Football Operations at the same time as Nancy’s sacking.
Nancy’s final game in charge was Celtic’s 3-1 defeat to Rangers, which made it six defeats in eight matches for the Frenchman.
Paul Tisdale ‘did not understand what was needed at Celtic’
Aberdeen’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Pittodrie between 2000 and 2004, had lengthy spells as the chief of Everton and Aston Villa and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes Tisdale’s appointment was another sign that the Celtic board are “out of touch.”
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks it was a “huge mistake” to also appoint Nancy as manager.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “It seemed inevitable that we were going to be talking about this, and here we are perhaps sooner than we thought. Eight games, 33 days. What a huge mistake by the board to actually take this in.
“Now it seems Paul Tisdale is the director of football who’s also lost his job, and I think it is mainly because of this decision, I think it’s all because of this decision. He was a big fan of Nancy and he convinced the board that this was the way to go. Tisdale, you know, look, I’d come across Tisdale when I was at Villa. It was a very strange situation about somebody trying to promote him, and it wasn’t really an agent, but it was a business mogul who I won’t name. He called me up and claimed that Tisdale was the next great football guru and that he was the great guy.
“If I remember him in his hat down at Exeter and the whole thing, he was a bit of a football hipster. How Celtic got sold that bunch of rubbish is amazing to me. It just is not Celtic.
“It just showed to me that the board was out of touch. They thought they were trying to be going forward, but I’m afraid it was rubbish. And I’m afraid Tisdale did not understand what was needed at Celtic, did not understand Scottish football, did not understand the Old Firm. And for me to say this, look, it’s difficult for people in England to understand the pressure in Glasgow. You had to be up there to do it, and I’ve been up in Scotland. I’ve worked in Scotland, as you know in Aberdeen, and it’s very very difficult.”
Celtic confirm interim appointment
Martin O’Neill has stepped up to take charge of Celtic for a second time this season following the departure of Nancy.
The 73-year-old had a short spell as interim boss between the reigns of Brendan Rodgers and Nancy, and remains a popular figure at the club.
O’Neill’s first game in charge will be against Dundee United at Celtic Park, with a winning start a priority in the Scottish Premiership title race.