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The Celtic Boss Is No Longer Committed To The Club. We Cannot Ignore That.

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That, yesterday, was not the straight-talking Celtic boss we have come to know and respect.

If he was committed to Celtic he would have said so once the final whistle had blown and there were no more games for the season. I said on Thursday that he would only be able to avoid the question for so long; yesterday, with nothing else to distract us, he was asked it straight out, and nothing short of a straight answer was going to suffice.

That was the moment, and instead of giving that answer he came off sounding like a third rate politician or a guy who’s been caught climbing out of someone else’s bedroom window.

Look, there are some questions you just can’t dodge your way around like this. He ran out of room to dodge yesterday. He was the one who said that he was focussed on only the game. In the aftermath of that game these questions were not only reasonable but essential and they are the kind of questions where any evasion is an answer all by itself.

There are some things about this that absolutely stink.

I’m not saying he’s wrong to want to explore the option of talking to Spurs; he has that right.

Celtic have rights too though, such as the right to enjoy cup final weekend without this hanging over us.

The right to the protection a long-term contract would have given us and which he and his agents have obviously not wanted to sign. I understand there will be interest in Ange; if he had signed a deal like that I wouldn’t have cared if he left the next day. That is the minimum we deserve for plucking him out of relative obscurity and backing him like no other boss in history.

Our plans for next season are already in place … that guy made those plans.

And now he’s not going to stick around and put them into motion?

This was allowed to dominate the last week, and whilst I appreciate that’s not entirely his fault, there were ways that it could have been handled a Hell of a lot better than it was. He has known far more than he has let on about what’s been happening in the background, and I don’t feel any desire to pretend I believe otherwise.

He stood there yesterday and tried to do his dance when, officially, he doesn’t even have an offer from England or anywhere else at this moment in time. All of it is hugely suspect.

As I said the other day, as much as he sat there at the press conferences before the game and said his mind was only on the match, it’s clear that his agents have been busy boys in the last week.

Yesterday he sounded very much like a man who knows exactly what has been happening behind the scenes.

He must be confident it’s a done deal.

Because how does he even start to row back from this if he’s not got something solid lined up?

What’s his next move?

Pretend none of this happened?

Oh I know some of our fans would be happy to ignore what’s now blatantly obvious if by some chance he happened to stay, but let’s recognise that he had a chance to commit to the club and didn’t do it.

There’s really no way to spin that.

If you asked your significant other if he or she was committed to the relationship and they hesitated, obfuscated and skirted around giving you a direct answer you would be wise to conclude that one of you would shortly be packing their bags.

It doesn’t matter what happens next, that relationship is not going back to the way things were.

When someone doesn’t answer a question like that then things have irrevocably changed. He is not committed to the cause; this is what led to Juranovic and Giakoumakis being sold when they were both one year into long term deals.

He emphasised that point himself; when someone’s not 100% on board then it’s time to move them on.

So the relationship Ange had with us is over, whether he stays or not.

A fundamental shift happened yesterday,

And you know, this leaves us with one Hell of a decision to make.

It would be better, in light of yesterday, for the club to sit him down and offer him a new deal and if he doesn’t sign it then we’ll know what we have to do.

If he goes down to London for an interview at Spurs I genuinely don’t want him to come back.

I very much doubt that anyone at Celtic will feel differently.

Because how can he come back?

That would leave us sitting fearing every managerial sacking down there, and the media would have an absolute blast milking that for all it was worth.

Without his signing a long term deal we’re leaving our club at the mercy of events.

It’s ludicrous to expect the people who run our club to accept a situation like that.

None of us should be put in that position, and especially not the fans.

Come Monday, he needs to be asked to commit, to sign a long term contract, and if he won’t then I would prefer that by 5pm we’re officially in the business of appointing someone new.

The announcement needs to be made, giving us all closure.

We’re Celtic, this is not a one-man cult of personality and someone is only as good as their most recent service to us.

When he evaded the question about whether he is committed to Celtic, his utility to us came to a shattering end.

It is clear that yesterday was the closing of a chapter, and the sooner we start moving onto the next one the more secure the house will be.

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  • John S says:

    I sincerely hope you’re jumping the gun on this one. The manager was given the rolling contract by the board and both sides are entitled to evaluate their options. I’d guess there’s been no official approach by an external club until today and, even if they do enquire, there are many things to consider. Celtic need to know one way or the other in order to plan for next season.

  • John McNamara says:

    In total agreement and we’ll said bhoy

  • Brian McCann says:

    Once again the people who run Celtic are “Reactive” rather than “Proactive”.
    A long term contract possibly a continuing five year rolling contract should have been given to the manager immediately that last season finished.
    Given the job he had done after inheriting the train crash left in the wake of the disastrous failed 10 in a row season the awarding of that continual five year rolling contract would have at least endured that the club would have received a decent sum in compensation should he leave rather than what is going to happen now.
    The people who run our club really do need to take a long hard look at their ability to run the club in every aspect of modern day football otherwise the losing of our manager will merely be the first part of an asset strip which will leave us toiling badly.

  • Paddybhoy67 says:

    Immediately after that interview my boy said, He’s gone. It was the perfect opportunity to commit … another better, stronger speech, perhaps. But no. Even at Celtic Park with the trophies he was evasive. If he’d just said, I’m going or I’m staying, I’d have been OK with it, but not answering directly at that time is so unlike the Ange we’ve known. Sickening really.

  • john Black says:

    Spot on mate 100%

  • Hans says:

    There’s a lesson for you in this James. You have absolutely deified the man. Yet when it comes down to it, he’s no better than Gerrard. Furthermore, I think he’ll bomb at Spurs.

  • Stesano says:

    He hasn’t once mentioned next season for 2 weeks ! He did last year remember on the pitch!! I am like you in that he owes Celtic some loyalty like a signed contract at least as petrov did knowing he go soon after! But I said my piece on Ange I always said he go on here first chance an English club showed interest anybody that ever lived in Australia knew that ,believe me I had guys on here berating me ” he a Greek”” ha ha they don’t get it! Even first generation Aussies like Ange as real Aussies!! I know been around plenty my ex is one! We have to move on totally if he interviews we can’t be having our manager walcing down there for interviews ! For me tho it’s over now tho as he be waiting on this for a while time for us to make up his mind for him! Works both ways ” mhate”!I like the guy but we can’t be having this nonsense no chance!

  • john Black says:

    Does any one think he’ll sign a one year rolling contract at Spurs ?
    NOT A CHANCE IN HELL

  • John Bhoy says:

    Have to agree with you James. After I got a message on Friday which I was hoping was not true but now make complete sense. It said that as of 10pm on Thursday Spurs had not contacted Celtic directly or indirectly and that it was Ange and his agent who were driving this. They both met with Desmond and his son 2 weeks ago (true) and they agreed on a budget for next season. A 5,000 seat stadium at Barrowfield and a new 3 year contract. They left the meeting with only Ange and his agent to sign off on the deal, then couldn’t get a hold of the agent and Ange said he hadn’t spoken to him. Then on trophy day last Saturday his agent is on his guest list and we saw the photos of him on the park with Ange. The agent blanked any talks and it has all gone south (literally) from there with Desmond raging. I obviously can’t confirm if this is true but it seems more than likely it is after yesterday’s events.

  • Stephen Docherty says:

    I agree with these comments he is no longer in the Celtic cause, let him go I would not trust this man again.
    Let us search for a manager who has the Celtic cause and only the Celtic cause.

  • Peter Cassidy says:

    He got a 3 year contract and basic wage plus add ons of around £9/10 million per year.” This deal done a few weeks ago can he be a success with spurs might but EPL a cess pit for managers but I nice pay off helps hope he does well a bit of a bitter pill on the way it ended but this football not a nice business as we all know.

  • king murdy says:

    gutted that ange’s is more than likely leaving…i have only arrived home from having been at hampden…and spent money i can’t really afford…
    tears were in my eyes as we fans sang YNWA to the team, ange and staff…it was so fukn emotional,,,well, it was for me…
    we football fans….yep,even sevco fans are all just mugs…we invest financially and emotionally to our teams…how many of those players on the park have ANY kind of bond to our club or us fans….really, how many ? calmac….forrest ? ralston ?…..the vast majority do not…they will leave in a heartbeat…or should that be, an agent’s heartbeat – but most of those bastards don’t have hearts…and as for the “straight talking” ange ? a big NOPE…
    i had an idea he was leaving last week, by his evasive answers…don’t think we can blame our club…and can’t blame the media – no smoke without fire…
    celtic took a punt on him….i am beginning to think we were being deliberately played by him as a stepping stone…he owed us AT LEAST, another season…
    i read on a hun forum, MONTHS ago….1 or 2 of them were slagging him off because he never holds eye contact with his interviewer, and “how could he be trusted…”??
    those huns might have been onto something….i am so gutted…
    HH

  • Iljas Baker says:

    Very naive to compare a marital/romantic relationship with a manager and his club. The latter is almost entirely transactional the former is not. Moreover presumably he might be in the middle of negotiations over a new Celtic contract so why would he want to give up any bargaining power by saying he is committed to Celtic?

    We’ll soon know where he’ll be next season. His contract has ended so he is a free man. He brought us success and a vision. If he goes we need to make sure we don’t lose these. I’m not too confident he’ll succeed in EPL but he must have decided it’s worth the risk and I wish him well.

  • Daniel Cullen says:

    Ang was offerdd a contract, Desmond offered him a 3 year deal, more than Rodgers was on, highest paid manager ever at Celtic with Bonuses if certain criteria was achieved. he was offered £30 million for players this window plus add-ons, Part off his structuring was the developement at Barrowfield. Ang has played all for fools, This deal was done 3/4 weeks ago, from a source who has several executive boxes and sponsorship deals at spurs. Ang has been a fraud all along, your comments about Juranivic and Giomakis proves the point. Also I have been told Kyogo is going with him for a Record fee .

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