![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2_charlie-methven.png\")
<\/p>\nThe former Sunderland executive director sympathises with Hoops supporters about how they feel their club is being run<\/p>\n
16:16, 16 Mar 2026Updated 19:28, 16 Mar 2026<\/p>\n
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Ex Sunderland director Charlie Methven(Image: Business of Sport Podcast)<\/p>\n
Dermot Desmond and Celtic <\/a>have been accused of “keeping all of their money in a biscuit tin” amid fan fury over the club’s perceived lack of ambition in the transfer market.<\/p>\n The Hoops crashed out of the Champions League<\/a> play-off round in the wake of a disastrous transfer window last summer and going into the last eight games of the Premiership season sit two points behind league leaders Hearts.<\/p>\n Following Brendan Rodgers’ shock exit at the end of October, Martin O’Neill<\/a> stepped in on a temporary basis only to be handed the reins for a second time less than two months later after Wilfried Nancy was given the sack following a dismal run of six defeats from eight matches.<\/p>\n O’Neill was able to bolster his squad in the January window, but all four of the new faces who arrive through the doors at Lennoxtown were secured on loan deals.<\/p>\n Relations between the Parkhead hierarchy and supporters are at an all-time low, with tensions boiling over at the club’s annual general meeting back in November after Ross Desmond, the son of Celtic’s largest individual shareholder, launched a stinging attack on their detractors.<\/p>\n The Green Brigade have since been banned from attending Celtic Park as the relationship shows no sign of healing, although interim Celts chairman Brian Wilson has revealed he met with chiefs from the fan group last week in a bid to find a resolution to the problem<\/a>.<\/p>\n And former Sunderland executive director Charlie Methven – who heavily featured in the second season of the Netflix documentary series Sunderland Till I Die – agrees with the sentiment from Celtic supporters that the club should be spending more in the transfer market because their healthy financial position allows them to.<\/p>\n Asked on the Business of Sport Podcast<\/a>, if Celtic have become complacent, he replied: “Yes. For the last 20 years, Dermot Desmond has effectively controlled Celtic \u2013 despite only owning 34% of it.<\/p>\n “And also, contrary to other owners in football \u2013 not that he is the owner, he\u2019s the biggest minority shareholder, of course \u2013 he just owns the shareholding, and the club makes a profit every year. So there\u2019s no need for anyone to be putting money in, because the club is simply profitable\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cBear in mind, there\u2019s this 90 million quid that\u2019s sat in the bank. Meanwhile, Ajax and Benfica and Sporting Lisbon, and so on, Porto, et cetera, are spending everything that they\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n Dermot Desmond(Image: PA)<\/p>\n “Mostly pretty responsibly, but they\u2019re spending everything that they\u2019ve got to try and keep pace with the European top table\u2026 and Celtic are putting all their money into their biscuit tin over here.”<\/p>\n Methven, who served as CEO of Charlton Athletic between 2023 and 2025 after stepping down from his role at the Stadium of Light four years earlier, added: “The unhappy fans are right! They\u2019re totally right. Because unlike other clubs\u2026 you know I can be quite dismissive of some fans, like \u2018Oh, the owners should spend more money\u2019.<\/p>\n “In this case, they\u2019re not asking any owner to spend more money. They\u2019re saying: \u2018The money that we, the fans, generate, we want to see that money put on the pitch\u2026 or the stadium. Because at the moment, we\u2019re spending all the money, and it\u2019s being stuck in the biscuit tin! Why?'”<\/p>\n Tune in to Hotline Live<\/a> every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport’s newest podcast, Game On<\/a>, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.<\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_Dermot-Desmond-File-Photo.jpg\")
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