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The Scotsman 05/03/1994
By Hugh Keevins
CELTIC's year, which officially started with the 3pm kick-off against Rangers on 1 January and saw the team lose a goal to Mark Hateley in the first minute, had been going steadily downhill.
Until yesterday. When Fergus McCann and Brian Dempsey entered a packed press conference last night, the former was taking control of the club two years after he had initially tried to buy his way into Celtic. Dempsey had been waiting since 26 October, 1990, to gain his revenge for the stage-managed refusal to ratify his appointment to the board that was produced on that date. Better late than never for the pair.
That was the attitude of the players who last night made no secret of their delight over the boardroom machinations which had given the club a fresh impetus. Charlie Nicholas and Peter Grant are Celtic supporters with jerseys and neither could conceal his delight over yesterday's developments. Nicholas had been the only player to publicly disown the board in its pre-receivership form. Yesterday, he was equally forthright when welcoming in the white knights who had ridden to the club's rescue as foreclosure loomed.
''The Celtic supporters now want honesty and integrity,'' said Nicholas.
''Brian Dempsey is a personal friend and I cannot think of a better man for Celtic.
''There are players in the dressing-room who are not as familiar with the club's background as Peter and myself, but I have been telling them that the new moves are a good thing for the club.''
Outside the ground, supporters who shared that opinion grew in number and there was an occasional outbreak of chanting. For the first time in months, they were favourable. The 'sack the board' ditty was redundant. It was unlike the chaos that had marred the New Year's Day game, when one supporter had tied his scarf into a noose and dangled it in front of the directors' box. Things got so bad thereafter that when the team went to Firhill to play Partick Thistle while in the midst of a seven-game run without a win, the directors brought their own stewards to guarantee their personal safety. The presence of the board had become a provocation to Celtic's fans. Perhaps that explained the attraction of moving to a new stadium at Cambuslang. The directors' box there might have been behind glass in the 21st-century vision that was explained to a bemused press by the old guard last Friday.
''It was sold to people as the greatest day in Celtic's history, but it didn't do much for me. I went home feeling depressed,'' said Grant.
''Celtic Park is where our supporters have gathered a lifetime of memories. This club should not even consider the idea of moving anywhere else.''
Grant is still three weeks away from full fitness after suffering a bad knee injury in January. His wife is expecting their first baby next week. He sounded as if getting a new set of directors was as enjoyable as either of those experiences.
Celtic's next home game is against Motherwell on 26 March. Grant, currently out injured, could be back by then; the supporters will certainly be back and in their thousands. They milled around the ground from morning until night yesterday and took delight in telling you that the cash withheld from the old board through boycotts would be given back in plenty through their attendance at home games. The final indignity had come when the fan arrested for running on to the park and attacking Rangers goalkeeper Ally Maxwell said in court that he wanted to get banned from Celtic Park. The only break the old board had received, in fact, came when the SFA decided the club warranted no punishment for that incident becaue they had ''taken all reasonable precautions''. A pity, then, that they had not been so circumspect in their financial dealings.