Keith Wyness calls for Celtic board to resign en masse
The Celtic board must repair its relationship with the fanbase or consider selling the club to a new ownership.
That is according to ex-Aberdeen, Aston Villa, and Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, amid Celtic’s current form under manager Wilfried Nancy.
Celtic fans have protested against the board since the summer transfer window and amid the team’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Brendan Rodgers resigned as Celtic manager in October, before the successful interim period of Martin O’Neill, and he was replaced by Nancy from MLS side Columbus Crew, in what has been a tumultuous season for the club so far.
Celtic board must ‘look at themselves in the mirror’
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 the Celtic board have handled important matters “badly” in recent months.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks a new ownership could now be a solution to Celtic’s problems.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “We also saw the unfortunate scenes at the AGM the other week with Ross Desmond really pouring oil on troubled waters or trying to pour oil on troubled waters that ended up setting fire to those troubled waters.
“There’s got to be peace, there’s got to break out between the board and the fans. Either that or for once I’m actually calling for the board to consider their position itself, because this is such a major time, a major important way they’ve handled these things so badly.
“They’ve actually got to look at themselves in the mirror, look at the situation with the fan base and the communication, the managerial situation overall, the way they’re running the club. I know they love it and they think it’s their play thing, but I think maybe now they’ve actually got to think about actually selling up and bringing in a new ownership. It’s the first time I’ve actually said that, but I really believe that could be the case.”
Celtic set for crucial Dundee United clash
The decision to appoint Nancy as Celtic manager has been widely criticised, with the Frenchman having lost all of his three games in charge so far.
Nancy is already under huge pressure to start winning games, with attention now turning to their title race against Hearts after their League Cup final defeat.
Celtic can cut the gap to three points on Hearts if they beat Dundee United in a rearranged mid-week fixture, in what could have a sizeable impact on the title race.