Celtic fans remain at loggerheads with the Parkhead board due to years of systematic failings at the club.
Celtic’s failures in Europe are well-documented as the club has failed to not only progress in the Champions League, but also failed to qualify for the group stages against lesser opposition on a number of occasions.
Coupled with years of poor player recruitment that is now bearing fruit this season as Celtic struggle domestically and on the continent, fan patience with the Celtic board has been stretched to its capacity.
Which is why Celtic-supporting Bristol Rovers boss Steve Evans should really do his homework if he wants to use the fans’ problems with the Parkhead board as a yardstick to defend the EFL club executives.
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty ImagesSteve Evans says Celtic fans are only unhappy with the board this season
Evans has never hidden his love for Celtic but it appears the interim Bristol Rovers boss is out of touch on what is happening at his boyhood club as he tries, and fails, to use the Parkhead support’s unhappiness as an example of fickle fan behaviour.
Evans told the Western Daily Express, “Yeah, from my point of view, it’s just I insisted on short-term. I don’t want to manage in the National League. I don’t think I’m going to go down that road.
“I may have to in the future, but I don’t want to. And I don’t want to be thinking other than we have a positive four or five months, we get to the summer and we put a squad and a team in place Ricky [Martin] and myself and Paul [Raynor] working really hard.
“Supporters can be rest assured that they can criticise, but I speak as a point. The owners must shake their head. They must cry now because they get undeserved criticism, supporters don’t see that, supporters see results.
How will you remember Peter Lawwell’s time at Celtic?
Peter Lawwell attends St Mirren vs Celtic during the Scottish Premiership
Credit: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
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“I understand that, but there’s never been a football club on the planet that when results are not good, the board don’t get criticised.
“If you look at Glasgow Celtic, they won the treble last year, and this year, the owner’s not very good, so there’s nothing to do with the owner last year.
“So just let’s all throw the rope in the same direction, and if we can do that, this proud football club will have some good times ahead. It needs good times, we’re working hard to bring them there.”
What Steve Evans once said about managing Celtic
As a Celtic supporter, you would think that if the opportunity to play for Celtic ever came about, Evans would have jumped at it, right?
Well, it appears it did and here, the new Rovers boss explains why he decided to move to Bolton Wanderers and reject the Bhoys.
Evans said, “How could I say no to them? I didn’t, I said yes! I had to say no the next day.
“I said to my Mum and Dad that I’d go to Celtic but the Bolton financial deal was ridiculous, it was six-figures to sign at 15.
“That was just to sign the form! It was bonkers. Then my Dad started saying you could buy a house and this and that and you couldn’t do that on £250 a week at Celtic.
“My love was Celtic and I would’ve signed for Celtic but I got turned around a little bit. At the end of the day my parents wouldn’t have made me do something I didn’t want to do so it was my decision, I decided Bolton.”
No one can ever have a go at players deciding to sign for a club for more money. Security is a big thing for most these days.
But to play for Billy McNeill at Celtic Park, how any Hoops supporter could turn that down, regardless of the money on offer, would be baffling for many.
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