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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Graeme Young

Dermot Desmond will NEVER sell Celtic shares as principal shareholder admits to 10 In A Row 'mistakes'

Principal Celtic shareholder Dermot Desmond insists he's a lifer at the club and has no interest of walking away - even if he's made a mammoth bid.

The Irish tycoon revealed he has never been presented an offer from potential investors but is adamant he has a long-term vision for the club he has been involved with in for 27 years.

Desmond has received flak over a perceived lack of visibility at Celtic but he has opened up during a wide ranging interview as he fronted up to a host of burning issues.

UFC superstar Conor McGregor previously claimed he held talks with Desmond over acquiring shares from the 71-year-old.

But Desmond made it abundantly clear that he sees himself and his family remaining key figures at Parkhead for years to come.

Speaking to Celtic TV, he said: "I'm very glad to do so (addressing speculation). Nobody's ever approached me about buying or selling shares - nobody. And that's in the last 27 years or so.

"I've no intention of selling shares, not now, not in the future, even if somebody offers me a price three or four times the current share price, I'm not selling.

"Fortunately, I've been privileged and honoured to be a shareholder of a club I've supported as a youth and I've been a fan for well over 50 years.

"Therefore, I'll continue to be a fan and shareholder of the club and hopefully contribute to the continuous development of the club."

Desmond and fellow board members were met with protests after their failed attempt to secure 10 In A Row - as Rangers romped to league glory by 25 points.

And he concedes not everything went to plan in a season that led to Neil Lennon leaving his post in February 2021 after a wretched defeat to Ross County.

He added: "As a club, we're continuing to learn and want to improve every aspect of the club.

"Our facilities, our infrastructure, our personnel, that's a given, every year.

"If we look back and analyse last year, let's look at the facts. The first thing we wanted to do was retain all our squad to win 10 In A Row.

"That we did, we wanted to retain the players we had on-loan, (Mohamed) Elyounoussi and (Fraser) Forster from Southampton.

"We'd reached terms with Southampton that both could come. Both players wanted to come and those deals were being consummated.

"Unfortunately, at the last minute, Fraser Forster decided to stay at Southampton.

"But in the interim, we'd let Craig Gordon go. That was the start of a little bit of challenges we faced from the previous year.

"We were in need of getting a goalkeeper to replace both Forster and Gordon. That was one of the challenges we faced.

"We recruited other players so that in every position we had cover. We added Shane Duffy as cover for centre-back and we did that throughout the whole squad.

Dermot Desmond (SNS Group)

"Now, there were mistakes made, I grant you. As far as maybe selection, there were mistakes made that were Covid-related, there were mistakes made with players going on trips.

"But it wasn't from the lack of having the squad, it wasn't the lack of dedicated manager and coaches to resolve the issues.

"You may say we should've got rid of the manager earlier on, the manager was an outstanding player for Celtic that won the league in his own right in his first period as manager of Celtic.

"He'd basically won two Trebles, if you want to call it a Treble and two thirds. Everybody endorsed the view Celtic were favourites to win the league.

"All the pundits, the paper commentators and, indeed, the betting companies. They had us odds-on favourites.

"We were well-geared for 10 In A Row. Unfortunately it didn't happen.

And the principal shareholder has moved to clear up how the club operates in terms of the transfer market.

Desmond has made it abundantly clear that current boss Ange Postecoglou - and previous managers - have the final say on deals.

He said: "The manager of the club over the last 20 years has always decided on the players to bring in. Not the board, not anyone else. Researchers provide information for the manager, the manager the decision, maybe in conjunction with his coaching staff, he makes the ultimate decision, he is the chairman of the board.

"Ange is the Chairman of the Board of Celtic, he is the person that signs the players, he is the person that takes the brickbats and takes the credits. That is the recruitment, it is not the board that decides yes or no. What the board does do it will set out the budget that we can afford so that we can be financially prudent in the way that we run the club.

"We do not want the club to get into a financial state where the club goes into liquidation and there is going to be a new Celtic. We want our history to be continuous, not to be curtailed through financial mismanagement."

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