adminThe principal shareholder has been criticised for poor decision-making at the top of the Scottish champions.
Under-pressure Dermot Desmond is overseeing “bad decisions” by the Celtic board regarding investment, according to former football executive Charlie Methven.
With tensions among the Celtic Park decision-makers already running high, Desmond was targeted with tennis balls by protesting fans wearing balaclavas while participating in the golf event at St Andrews earlier this month.
The incident sparked angry exchanges of statements between the Scottish champions and fan groups, with the Parkhead AGM fast approaching.
Former Sunderland and Charlton executive director Methven, who now works as a football consultant and podcaster, anticipates a reckoning for Desmond and the Parkhead board at the shareholders’ meeting.
He has accused the club of “piling up cash in the bank account” instead of upgrading the stadium and first-team squad, placing the responsibility on principal shareholder Desmond.
Speaking on the Business of Sport podcast, Methven said: “The fact of the matter is that at the same time that Celtic have been very, very tight on spending both on their first-team squad but also on their facilities, their stadium, etc., they’ve just been piling up cash in the bank account.
“I mean, it’s difficult to have a real-time snapshot of where they are right now, but I suspect they’ve got about £90 million in cash in the bank whilst still having a not-fit-for-purpose main stand at their stadium, Celtic Park, and also not having a squad that’s good enough even to beat absolute minnows in European qualifying.
So the fans are saying ‘Well, hang on a second. We’re spending all our money. You’re putting it into the bank account as a board. You’re then making bad decisions.’
“You’re not investing our money. We’re not even asking you to invest your own money.
“Our money, the fans’ money, is not being invested into the stadium, which can then help grow the revenues, which then help us compete on the European stage.
“‘And all of this is being overseen and decided by a 30% shareholder. Why?’”
Methven has estimated that around £90m is sitting in Celtic’s accounts, but the club’s latest financial statements revealed that cash reserves had fallen from £77.3m to £66.4m.
The Hoops also reported a loss of £4.8million for the financial year, compared with a substantial £33.9m profit in 2025.
The period ending in June 2026 also revealed that revenue dropped sharply to £111m from £143.6m, largely due to the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.
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