Kieran Maguire: SFA 'uneasy' after BBC update on Celtic-Strachan drama

Kieran Maguire: SFA 'uneasy' after BBC update on Celtic-Strachan drama

Kieran Maguire

Kieran joined the Football Insider squad in January 2021 and provides clarity for readers on the occasionally bewildering world of football finance. He is an author, university lecturer and all-round spreadsheet boffin. His 2020 book The Price of Football is a seminal work on the economic side of the beautiful game.

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The Scottish FA are right to feel "uneasy" about a possible conflict of interest at Celtic and Dundee regarding Gordon Strachan.

That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the 64-year-old former Hoops boss.

The SFA is set to arbitrate on a possible conflict of interest later this month after Strachan was hired for a three-month consultancy role at Parkhead.

Celtic

The former Scotland manager currently works as a technical director for fellow Premiership side Dundee and will manage the roles simultaneously.

As per BBC Sport on 12 August, Celtic do not believe they are in violation of dual interest rules and will press on with his appointment.

But Maguire insists that any potential breach of SFA regulations should be examined thoroughly.

"I certainly can understand the sense of unease at the SFA," he told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams.

"Ultimately, if Gordon Strachan is advising Dundee in terms of tactical, technical and recruitment issues, he should be giving 100 per cent focus.

"If he is then doing something similar for Celtic, where does his ultimate commitment lie?

"I think it's one thing to offer consultancy services for a number of clubs. We do have the likes of Opta and Statsbomb offering their services to a variety of clubs after all.

"That's not an issue because they go to great lengths to be independent when they are advising different clubs.

"But technical director is more than a consultancy role. I think for an individual like Strachan, he will know things about Dundee when he's at Celtic, and vice-versa."

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