Celtic Diary Tuesday March 9: An Open Letter to Dominic McKay

Sir

It was with great optimism that I looked back on your statement , reproduced here, and look forward to a wind of change blowing through the stands at Celtic Park.

“It is with great pride and enthusiasm that I look forward to beginning my new role as chief executive officer of Celtic. Celtic is one of the most recognisable football brands globally, with fans and a sporting ethos known and respected throughout the world.

“I look forward to working with Peter and the board to ensure a seamless transition. In Peter, I can think of no better example to follow.

“Of course I understand that Celtic is more than just about financial results off the pitch and football results on the pitch. Developing and nurturing the Celtic ethos with our supporters and stakeholders is a key component of my role going forward. I’m looking forward to supporting and building upon the great work carried out by Celtic FC Foundation to ensure that this remains at the heart of the Celtic way.

“Having spoken with Dermot Desmond, I know I will have a shareholder who cares deeply about the club and who will take the time to provide advice and the benefit of his experience to help me in my new role. It is going to be an exciting journey.”

“I relish the opportunity to start working with my new team, the footballing and playing staff and, most importantly, the supporters.”  

There is a tremendous responsibility associated with the position, and if I may offer you a good natured warning, it’s that your life will never quite be the same again.

But hopefully, that’s in a good way.

Positions like the CEO at Celtic don’t come up very often, and when they do, it’s not going to be because things were going well. You may have noticed, in fact, that things are at a pretty low ebb.

In short, you’ve got this job because the previous incumbent has made a bit of a pigs breakfast of things, and as a result, it’s going to take a lot of running just to stand still.

Hopefully, this letter will give you something to think about. And if you do think about it, thats already a bonus, as it shows you are prepared to listen to all sides, as some would argue that your predecessor hadn’t quite worked out that having two ears and one mouth leads to them being far more effective when used in proportion.

An unusual season, for a number of reasons, has led to the unusual situation where supporters feel distanced from the club. Indeed,  distanced by the proverbial country mile, and it’s not going to be easy to get everyone back onside.

You will have your own ideas on how to do that, and no doubt you will have listened to those with inside knowledge of how things work in order to help you hit the ground running.

Hopefully, you will also , from this., be on the point of spotting why change is needed, not just in personnel, but in direction, in ambition and , maybe not as important in some minds, but in the image and ethos of the club.

The latter may not seem to be as important as the formers, but standing here on the outside looking in, I can assure you it is.

When the  wind of change sweeps through, it must carry away elements that if allowed to remain, would render any new vision blind.

Whilst it’s important to work…. with Peter and the board to ensure a seamless transition, it’s perhaps best that you ask him where the best place to park is, where the toilets are and to identify the best sandwich bar to pop out to if you fancy a butty.

The first thing you need to do is to decide to be entirely your own man.

In Peter, I can think of no better example to follow. 

That’s one way of looking at it. Not the right way, but it’s one way.

Trust between any customer and any supplier of any product is essential. The supplier needs to know he’s getting his money, and the customer needs to know the product is worth it.

That essential base has been worn away over the last few years, as supporters began to feel that their own ambitions, built over a lifetime of emotional and financial investment was not being met with an equal amount of emotional and financial investment from the club.

More importantly, we felt that perhaps we were being told that matters of business were not for the likes of us, and we should leave that to those who know best.

Quite an attitude from some considering the amount of supporters who have their own businesses in an assortment of markets.

An attitude that cannot be traced to it’s exact origin, but one comment from a former manager about fans drinking superstrength lager whilst criticising his decisions still resonates today.

As for the board members, their own political ideals are their own business, but for a club with charitable origins, and a hard working charity foundation, it could be argued that those who would choose to have ideals that have been at odds with assistance to those most vulnerable in society, should perhaps be asked to think very carefully if they are involved with the right club.

Supporters notice these things, and when , for instance, they are accused of being racist for criticising a board members political activity, as happened a few years ago, the level of distance between the two becomes greater.

In fact, you may have noticed that the board is facing criticism on a level not seen since the days of the old Kelly/White dynasty, and that didn’t end well for them.

Thats why what you do next is crucial to the image of the club going forward.

Not with the media, not with the stock market, but with us.

The supporters.

We have seen our club stay silent on a number of matters that may not seem important when looking out of the windows in the office suites of Celtic Park, but for those of us who look in, they are paramount.

We thought, for instance, that when Rangers finally faced the consequences of years of using a unique method of remuneration and tax calculations, that our club would demand a full public inquiry into what went on.

Supporters and shareholders want to know who knew what, who decided what and who covered their tracks.

We felt cheated, in that for years we have paid into a game where the result was decided in advance, and it was no longer a sport, but a cosy arrangement between two entities that thrived on the back of the hatred whipped up by a complaint media, who also relied heavily on income from there own condemnation of the fury they had encouraged.

I could go on for hours about how there are many perceived instances of injustice or corruption that some felt was being used to sell tickets to this show, and no doubt elsewhere I probably will, but whats done is done.

We can’t change those events, and even the most severe of sanctions won’t fully remove the sour taste they have left.

But we can move forward, and ensure that never again is Celtic to be associated with those who have perhaps a lesser moral compass than ourselves.

We could start as we mean to go on…

Celtic FC would like to congratulate Rangers on their first Scottish Premiership title.  

Thats it. a simple statement that would show that we are no longer prepared to encourage this fantasy that somehow the Ibrox entity survived their collapse into liquidation.

And from your point of view, it would show that you have listened to, understood, and acted on our concerns that the crimes of the original Rangers may have gone unpunished, but not unrecognised.

To do anything else merely ensures that the current slide of Scottish football, and indeed our own club, will continue.

If your ambition is linked to any other club surviving or prospering, and if any business plan is to be developed using any other club , including sponsorship , investment or even  a term that recognises any link, perceived or real, then you will already have failed.

It is only the physical assets of the business that need to remain in Scotland, the image is global, and it does not need to be associated with anything or anyone else.

The board have made mistakes in the past, perhaps the most significant being its reluctance to challenge the integrity of the authorities, both in sport and in government.

The support needs to know that the new vision for Celtic has enough ambition, enough integrity and enough courage to be worthy of the name.

And that’s down to you.

As you said…

I relish the opportunity to start working with my new team, the footballing and playing staff and, most importantly, the supporters.”  

Yours.

Me.