Selflessness and humility are the only things that can heal Celtic now.

Earlier, I wrote that the chairman’s statement insulted supporters who have given everything to this club. I also made it clear that any resolution will only come if the club itself moves at least part of the way towards the fans and offers a genuine gesture of goodwill. Celtic must take that step. Without it, there will be no solution.

We are past the point where ego and arrogance should dictate the direction of events. We have entered a critical phase, a danger zone. The club must now fix these problems or allow them to fester for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, everyone suffers.

I cannot speak for the fan groups involved. However, they have stated their position clearly. They have set out their minimum requirements, and those requirements include the removal of senior executives. They would not make that demand unless they believed it was necessary.

This situation did not become personal. It was never personal. The problem is that the people running Celtic made it personal. By turning the issue into something about themselves instead of the wider interests of the club, they brought us to this point.

No one can make a convincing case for Michael Nicholson to remain as chief executive. No one can offer a single cast-iron reason to justify his continued tenure. By contrast, the case for change is overwhelming.

If individual egos now block meaningful negotiation, those egos must give way for the good of Celtic. If someone chooses to walk away rather than accept that reality, so be it. This process requires give and take. If those in power refuse to give, pressure will build. If that creates discomfort, that is unfortunate, but unavoidable. The club cannot bend itself around the will of one individual. It has done far too much of that already.

If certain people keep this situation in a state of conflict because they refuse to be reasonable or refuse to recognise reality, the consequences will rest with them. No one on the supporters’ side wants to burn the house down. However, if those on the other side would rather damage the club than surrender a measure of pride or status, responsibility for what follows will be theirs alone.

For years, the board told us that the club is bigger than any individual. Dermot Desmond himself used those words when he criticised Brendan Rodgers. Since then, supporters have turned those words back on the board. Many now believe that Desmond, more than anyone else, allows personal preference and pride to outweigh the wider interests of the club.

Some supporters said the same about Rodgers. Others said it about Nicholson. Many have said it about Peter Lawwell.

There is one group no one can accuse of it.

The supporters.

Everyone else in this story takes something from Celtic. The fans give without expecting anything in return. Our love for the club is unconditional. Our support for those who run it is not.

That is why the contempt sometimes aimed at ordinary supporters feels so misplaced. Many fans, some for the first time in their lives, now understand that they have agency. They have influence. And they intend to use it.

Meanwhile, the board continues to talk about unity. But unity requires more than words. It requires mutual respect and for both sides to recognise each other as legitimate. It requires the club to stop treating supporters as adversaries and start treating them as partners in Celtic’s future.

On the supporters’ side, the priority is clear: the long-term wellbeing of Celtic.

It is far less clear that everyone on the other side of the table shares that priority.

That is why the next step matters. Those in positions of power must either set their egos aside or see them set aside for them.

Only then will this club move forward.