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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Josh McCafferty

I helped save Celtic in the 90s - here's what current board must do

Former Celtic director Brian Dempsey says the club must get the fans back onside by demonstrating increased levels of ambition.

The board have received widespread criticism in recent weeks, with supporters staging a protest at Rugby Park this afternoon.

And Dempsey, who helped save Celtic from falling into the abyss in the 1990s, reckons something must change at the top.

"When an institution like Celtic loses the goodwill of the fans, then they are in trouble," he told RecordSport. "They need to get it back quickly by being honest, sincere and genuine.


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"And the most urgent need is to convince the fans that the Celtic hierarchy does have ambition.

"I would struggle to understand how the board can continue to oversee a situation where there is a lack of mutual respect between the club and the fans.

"I would never refer to the Celtic support as the customer base because they’re not customers.

"They are people who, over the 30 years since the takeover, have put tens of millions of pounds into Celtic and who make personal sacrifices to go on doing so.

"The club are financially indebted to them and must never forget that.

"The fans are now, as they were in 1994, the ones who make Celtic a viable company with their relentless purchase of season tickets, merchandising and everything else on offer from the club.

"And yet we have come to a situation where there will be an organised boycott of the first 12 minutes of the game against Kilmarnock."

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