I NEVER THOUGHT I’D SAY THIS: THANK YOU DERMOT DESMOND!
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- Nov 3
- 3 min read
The euphoria of yesterday’s electrifying win for Celtic over the Monosyllabic Mutants of Mordor has now given way to a bit of quiet reflection. I’ve watched the highlights back a few times, rewatched all the post-match interviews, and perhaps overindulged just ever so slightly in the deliciously addictive beverage that is the tears of our broken rivals.
A week is a long time in politics, but an even longer time in football, it seems. I cannot believe its only 7 days ago that I penned my now infamous “Brendan Rodgers has 7 days to save his job” article. Ultimately, it was newsworthy for about 10 minutes before he left the club, for the second time.
Such is the risk one takes when blogging about Celtic in real-time.
Anyway, Martin O’Neill came in, and with him a wave of positivity that saw us shave 2 points off of Hearts’ lead in the league, and then the absolutely glorious Sevco Smackdown that came yesterday.
Who do we have to thank for all this, well, it’s someone I’m often very critical of, and I stand by all of those criticisms regardless, Celtic’s largest shareholder Dermot Desmond.
The Board and Celtic Fans are Still Poles Apart, But Dermot Desmond Deserves Credit for Martin O’Neill Call
Last Tuesday morning, at about 8am local time here in Japan, I awoke to the news from a couple of hours previously that Brendan Rodgers had left Celtic.
I then received the secondary gut-punch of that utterly horrendous statement from Dermot Desmond, which just seemed to confirm every Celtic fans’ worst fears about the arrogance, belligerence and sheer bloody-mindedness of both our board and our former manager.
At the time of writing, Brendan Rodgers has still to officially respond to the allegations in Dermot Desmond’s thoroughly unprofessional statement, and until he does, I shall reserve judgement on his part in Celtic’s recent problems.
What happened next though shows that whatever I may think of Desmond’s ego, his professional conduct or his worthiness to be the leading voice among Celtic’s current custodians, the man is clearly no fool. What he did in the immediate aftermath of Rodgers’ departure was an absolute masterstroke.
A genuine question for you all: Is there anyone else alive today, who could have stepped into the Celtic manager’s office on Tuesday morning of last week to a welcome as warm, or support as seemingly universal as Martin O’Neill?
Desmond made that call, and whatever I may think of the man, or his way of conducting business, this move was absolute genius. There can be no denying that.
Martin O’Neill hasn’t brought in any new players. He hasn’t even changed our formation, yet.
Nonetheless, the past two games appeared to show a completely different Celtic team.
Johnny Kenny, a player I would gladly have seen depart in the summer, is now a derby-day hero. Callum Osmand, who never even saw a second of competitive first team action under the previous manager, now looks like a genuine, if still somewhat raw, striking prospect.
Then there’s the rejuvenation of previously written off players like Arne Engels, Auston Trusty, the list goes on.
How much of that is down to Martin O’Neill and how much of it is down to Shaun Maloney, and his in-depth knowledge of our current squad?
I don’t really know, and in all honesty, so long as the positive results keep coming, I don’t really care.
But I have to give credit where credit is due. Dermot Desmond holds undue influence over the running of our club, and that is something that, in the long-term, needs dealt with.
But in light of recent events, I am willing to say this: Well-played Mr. Desmond, well-played indeed.
Martin O’Neill’s return has given us all hope, positivity, and belief. Now, while the goodwill endures, Celtic’s custodians need to get the next phase of the plan in place.
Nostalgia and a good old skelping of Rangers will buy them some time. It is up to Desmond and his cohorts to make the most of that goodwill and that time.
Whatever happens, the next few weeks will be very interesting indeed.
