“Walk 500 Miles” – Ange quoted the Proclaimers to get Celtic job, Dermot Desmond reveals

Ange Postecoglou quoted the Proclaimers, telling Dermot Desmond he’d walk Five Hundred Miles to be the next Celtic manager and that convinced the Irish Billionaire that Peter Lawwell was correct in his assessment that the Australian should be the new Celtic manager after Eddie Howe had to reject the job offer due to personal circumstances.

And in a wide ranging interview with Celtic TV Dermot Desmond talks through the last twenty years as Celtic enjoyed perhaps the most successful period in the club’s history. He also tells his side of the story on what happened last season when Celtic tried and failed to win Ten in a Row and explains why the Board did not remove Neil Lennon from his post as the wheels came off Celtic’s campaign.

“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, Elyounoussi and 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.”

Now the dust has settled on last season, Celtic’s largest shareholder continued to give his own explanation as to why things didn’t work out as planned.

“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.

Photo: Andrew Milligan

“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 Ten In A Row. Unfortunately it didn’t happen.”

Desmond also revealed that he’d never been asked to sell his shares to anyone and would do so in any case.

“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.”

The interview was filmed last week ahead of Sunday’s incident packed Glasgow Derby at Ibrox so there was no residue from that in Dermot Desmond’s remarks as he pointed talks about running Celtic in a prudent financial manner and to ensure the club survives with an unbroken history. Celtic would never go into liquidation with a new Celtic having to be formed under his watch. Perhaps this is him going some way to correct his comments on the new Rangers club founded by Charles Green in 2012?

Peter Lawwell is praised for his service and the Irish billionaire points out that the former long serving Celtic CEO was offered 3 times his salary to move to the English Premier League but his love of Celtic was too strong for him to be tempted.

And on player recruitment Dermot Desmond confirmed that this has always been down to the manager for the final decision with the board simply laying out available budgets in advance. The nature of the Neil Lennon appointment and the influence that Peter Lawwell held in that relationship wasn’t discussed.

“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.”

On Ange’s job interview Desmond reveals that Ange never asked to bring anyone and never asked what money would be available for signing players, saying instead he’d assess things when he got here and would be happy to work with whatever budget he was allocated.

Photo: Jeff Holmes

Dermot Desmond also spoke to Ange about the need for the club to bring in a manager who was fully committed to Celtic for the long term and not someone just passing through the club to further his own career, and Ange was happy to provide that assurance saying he’d walk 500 miles and would walk 500 more to manager Celtic.

At that point Dermot Desmond knew that Peter Lawwell had got this one right and that Ange Postecoglou would be the new Celtic manager.

Frank McGarvey, as we reported last night, speaking on his podcast with Tommy Sheridan this week described that as one of the best decision ever taken in Celtic’s history. The former Celtic striker also described Ange Postecoglou as “the nearest I’ve seen to Jock Stein.” High praise indeed for Ange.

The exclusive interview with Dermot Desmond is available to view now on the official Celtic website – VIEW HERE.

About Author

The Celtic Star founder and editor, who has edited numerous Celtic books over the past decade or so including several from Lisbon Lions, Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and Jim Craig. Earliest Celtic memories include a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk

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