Brian Dempsey – Revealed: Why It All Fell Apart

Brian Dempsey has lifted the lid on his relationship with Fergus McCann and revealed for the first time why he couldn't work with the one time Celtic saviour. McCann and Dempsey masterminded the downfall of the Kelly/White dynasty that had ruled Celtic for 100 years and taken the club to within an hour of bankruptcy. Late at night on March 4, 1994, both men stood on the rain-lashed steps of Celtic Park and Dempsey declaring that the rebels had won. McCann had long harboured a business plan to bring Celtic into the modern era but Dempsey suddenly found his would-be partner's aims were unacceptable. The so-called 'dream ticket' of McCann and Dempsey quickly disintegrated and only now is Dempsey able to reveal the reasons why he had to step aside after a four-year crusade to oust the old board. He explained: "Fergus McCann made it clear to me that he was involved with Celtic to make money,"

"I told him wasn't interested in making money out of the Celtic supporters. "My quote to Fergus was 'You can step on the plane to the anonymity of Canada, I have to live here'. "I'm not interested in exploiting the Celtic support, I never have been and I never will." Critics claim that Dempsey should have stood his ground and continued to fight from within the club, but the millionaire property developer knew he had no chance of changing McCann's mind. McCann sold his shareholding in the club in 1999 and returned to Canada with a pounds 31m profit from his five years in the Celtic hot seat Dempsey added: "Fergus owned 51 per cent of the club and you couldn't fight anything from within. "I wasn't prepared to be his lap-dog and allow everything that he was doing to the Celtic support to go by. "At huge personal cost to myself I walked away. I wasn't prepared to be involved in what I saw as exploitation of the supporters and I wouldn't be prepared to do that now. I'm prepared to speak the truth as I see it. "The facts are that the share price has collapsed and the board are not delivering the ambitions of the fans." Dempsey was co-opted onto the Celtic board in May 1990 but was axed five months later by former Glasgow Lord Provost Michael Kelly. After a brief spell with McCann he opted to leave but won't rule out a third involvement at the club he loves if the conditions were right. "I've never hid from the firing line and never will," Dempsey emphasised. "It is painful to watch things at the club because the current directors do not have the interests of the club at heart. "Most fans look at the fact that the team is top of the table but I view it differently and there are deep-seated issues that have to be addressed. "I have no ambitions to be a director again but you don't have to be on the board to be involved."