CELTIC are searching for a new head of business relations as unrest continues within a section of the club’s support.
There was a clear-the-air meeting between Michael Nicholson and Hoops officials and the fans’ collective group last night, but afterwards there still appeared to be discord between both bodies.
The chief executive was joined by Chris McKay, the chief financial officer, and SLOs John Paul Taylor among others for discussion with the supporters.
The board have come under fire this season over a perceived lack of investment in the squad among other accusations and there have been a number of protests in recent games.
Two planned demonstrations for the midweek Europa League match against Sporting Braga and the league encounter with Motherwell at the weekend were cancelled after board members agreed to meet with selected individuals from the fanbase last night.
The champions are striving to improve relations and will push ahead with the appointment of a New Head of Business Operations, as reported in the Daily Record.
A recruitment company have already been put in place to advertise the new post.
The advert states: “This role is fundamental to ensuring that supporter services are delivered in a way which ensures a world class supporter service is in place.
“It will encompass a broad range of supporter services, including the oversight of all retail operations, ticketing, hospitality sales and stadium services.
“The individual will play a key role in ensuring our supporters are able to share in the success and experience of being part of Celtic through multi-channel engagement across the club.”
These are obvious troubled times for the club and more than 400 groups have signed up to the Collective, after they had posted an open letter questioning the direction of the club under its present board.
The fans’ collective released a summary on social media in which they complained of a “lack of humility, awareness and accountability” throughout the meeting.
Earlier, manager Brendan Rodgers had called for unity as he feels a united Celtic, on and off the field, will combine to offer the team their best chance of success this season.
The club saw their Champions League bid falter at the qualifying stage against Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty and the Hoops, looking for their fifth successive title, are two points behind Hearts at the Premiership pinnacle after just seven league games.
There is now a welcome rest during the international break before the Hoops go back into league against Dundee at Dens Park a week on Sunday.
