Celtic board meeting in Greenock a PR move, says Hugh MacDonald
On The Journos, the panel expect the Celtic board to engineer Martin O'Neill's exit, and Gordon Parks doubts Scottish clubs will ever back home-grown players.
By Peter Martin,
The Celtic board's meeting with supporters in Greenock was a strategic PR move ahead of the AGM, according to Hugh MacDonald on The Journos. He and Gordon Parks joined Peter Martin to discuss Celtic, Hearts, the shortage of Scots in the Premiership and the start of Sebastien Pocognoli's time with Scotland.
The board and O'Neill
The panel considered whether the Greenock meeting was "a preemptive strike" before the AGM. They do not see Dermot Desmond telling Martin O'Neill to go. Instead, they expect the board to "orchestrate his departure", with breaking point coming if Rangers go top.
The discussion also covered the defeat at Falkirk, about which the panel said "you can see how toxic it is". They also noted that Celtic has no director of football and looked at O'Neill's legacy, describing the position as "left exposed".
Another difficult week in Europe
The Journos are anticipating more misery for Celtic and Hearts in Europe. Beşiktaş arrive in Glasgow with a former Celtic striker in their side, and the panel talked about "quiet humiliation" in Europe and what it means for ticket demand.
Hearts travel to Switzerland to face FC Thun with about 10 players out. The panel's verdict was that "a draw would be a terrific result".
Where are the Scots?
Peter Martin counted the Scots starting for each Premiership club over the last five games. St Johnstone averaged 5.8 and Rangers 1.0.
The panel looked at Barcelona and La Masia, at France and the banlieues of Paris, and at the SFA's white paper. They also asked whether playing young Scots is a gamble. Gordon Parks dismissed the possibility of Scottish clubs investing in home-bred players or changing the way young players are coached.
Pocognoli's first squad
Scotland's Nations League campaign has failed, and after Slovenia, "the Nations League has been killed stone dead for Scotland". The panel discussed "apathy" around the national side and said they want to see Pocognoli's style. They expect a win over North Macedonia and "a doing in Switzerland".