Dermot Desmond spotted at Cheltenham Festival as Celtic powerbroker's brutal two-word manager admission aired
The Celtic major shareholder and members of the board have come under fire this season.
Celtic major shareholder Dermot Desmond has been spotted near the winning circle on day one of the Cheltenham Festival - as his brutal Hoops manager confession comes to light.
The billionaire and members of the Parkhead board have been under fire this Premiership season amid a difficult title defence, exit from the Champions League and lamented transfer business. Legendary boss Martin O’Neill has been drafted in twice by Desmond, once after Brendan Rodgers’ resignation, and again after permanent successor Wilfried Nancy lasted less than a couple of months.
One of Desmond’s other loves is horse racing and his business partner, JP McManus, is one of the biggest in the business when it comes to ownership. McManus built his massive fortune comfortably in the billions mainly through betting, currency trading and property investments.
What JP McManus horse has won at Cheltenham Festival?
On his 75th birthday in the McCoy Contractors Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, Saratoga delivered him a victory, with Desmond spotted in the background as photos were taken of the winning stable. Another photo clearly shows Desmond in high spirits as the iconic horse racing festival gets off to a fine start for McManus.
O’Neill meanwhile has been talking over his return to Parkhead via talkSPORT, brought on largely by the influence of Desmond. He has revealed the brutal response that the major shareholder delivered when it came to becoming the caretaker gaffer for a second time this season.
He said: “Absolutely [the second spell has been more difficult]. You knew that when you went in there, first of all, you were in for a short period of time. As I said to Dermot Desmond, the major shareholder, he said you could be there for two weeks or two months. As it turned out, it was like, what, 36 or no more than 40 days.
What Dermot Desmond told Martin O’Neill about return to Celtic
“And you knew that was coming to an end at some stage or another. Then, when you step in, in the first week of January, I had not a thought in my head about a January transfer window, or deadlines. When I was speaking to Dermot Desmond the second time, I said, ‘I might not last that length of time in terms of results.’ You know what he said? I thought he’d be very accommodating. He said, ‘I know.”
O’Neill also discussed the penalty shootout win over Rangers in a Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox, a week on from their draw versus the Light Blues on league business. He added: “We’ve shown, in the first half, the previous Sunday, we might as well have stayed at Celtic Park.
“We’re 2-0 down in the game, long long way back at Ibrox. So we showed some fight and spirit, there’s no question about that there. To come back in the game, and actually dominate proceedings in the second-half which was great, we got out of it at 2-2 and then, we have to come back again. As I said to you, even more intoxicating in many aspects.”
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