Keith Wyness has delivered a scathing criticism of Celtic for falling for the bulls**t offered by Paul Tisdale.
The former Exeter City boss charmed his way up the ladder from coming in as a consultant to Head of Football Operations in just a few months.
During 2025 his recruitment work trashed the squad and playing staff to devastating effect.
TISDALE CREATES CELTIC MELTDOWN
Celtic lost two cup finals in 2025 and are currently sitting in third place in the SPFL Premiership.
A Champions League exit to Kairat Almaty has hung over the whole season with the three changes of manager in less than 20 SPFL matches.
Tisdale has a huge role to play in the sorry state of affairs but not as much as the executives that allowed the situation to develop. Ultimately that leads to Michael Nicholson, as CEO everything is signed off by the former ‘leading sports lawyer’.
The role of Head of Football Operations was never advertised, but seems to be an extension of the job Mark Lawwell quit in March 2024.
Clearly Nicholson’s circle of contacts wouldn’t cover a former long term Exeter City manager.
Two theories circulate over how Celtic ended up being effectively ran by Nicholson.
Either a mutual golfing friend introduced him to Dermot Desmond or he was friendly with Gavin Strachan after they covered the same grounds in the lowest reaches of English football.
Whatever the route the outcome has been horrific as Wyness explains.
They’re literal cockroaches m8, they’ll survive a Nuclear Holocaust & come out & start again!!
— Gary Mc (@garymcquade10) January 13, 2026
WYNESS ON TISDALE
What a huge mistake by the board to actually take this in there. It seems Paul Tisdale is the director of football who’s also lost his job.
And I think mainly because of this decision, I think it’s all because of this decision, he was a big fan of Nancy and he convinced the board that this was the way to go.
Tisdale, you know, look, I’d come across Tisdale when I was at Villa. I had a very strange situation about somebody trying to promote him. And it wasn’t really an agent, but it was a business mogul who I won’t name.
He’d called me up and claimed that Tisdale was the next great football guru and that he was the great guy.
If you remember him in his hat down at Exeter and the whole thing, bit of a football hipster. How Celtic got sold, that bunch of bullsh**, is amazing to me.
It just is not Celtic. It just showed to me that the board was out of touch. They thought they were trying to be going forward, but I’m afraid it was rubbish.
And I’m afraid Tisdale did not understand what was needed at Celtic, did not understand Scottish football.
Wyness was CEO of Aberdeen from 2000 to 2004 before going on the same job at Everton and Aston Villa.
These days he is a bit of a maverick figure on Football Insider, offering opinions on issues at a variety of clubs.
CELTIC’S CHRONIC BOARDROOM FAIRURE
Wyness does come up with some far fetched stuff but his personal dealings with Tisdale shine a light on another monumental mistake by the Celtic board.
Clearly Tisdale was trying to find a way in at EPL clubs- and getting no success. Access to easy money, it overflows through EPL clubs.
To be a CEO in the EPL you need more talent than being a nodding dog to every suggestion from Peter Lawwell.
The CEO of an EPL club will regularly be getting approaches over the next big thing to keep their club competitive and inside the most lucrative league in football.
Wyness quickly saw through Tisdale. A wide boy dressed up in fancy clothing with delusions on a par with Micky Beale.
With no takers in England Tisdale somehow got himself in front of Dermot Desmond.
From there he got a consultancy role at Celtic, apparently a football person to liaise between Brendan Rodgers and the board.
Tisdale bypassed everyone to provide Desmond with what he wanted. In return he was given the job of Head of Football Operations.
Now Desmond has lost a manager of the quality that he won’t be able to replace. His trusted Chairman has resigned with his son Ross now deemed toxic after his AGM appearance.
Everything now hinges on Martin O’Neill coming to the rescue. If Celtic lose the league the board will get the blame, if they win the SPFL the credit is all down to O’Neill and his coaching staff.
4 minutes 30 seconds- Wyness discusses Celtic, initially the sacking of Nancy then his experience of Paul Tisdale.
