Anthony Joseph says Dom McKay wanted a sporting director at Celtic, with Fergal Harkin among the names considered as he sought to modernise the club’s football operation.

McKay arrived in 2021 promising fresh ideas. By September, barely two months after formally succeeding Peter Lawwell as chief executive, he had left.

Celtic cited personal reasons for his departure. Joseph’s suggestion that the pace of change may have been an issue is his assessment, rather than an established explanation for the exit.

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But his account raises a familiar question about how willing Celtic are to hand football decisions to specialists.

Joseph believes the existing directors could remain at the club within a different structure, provided they were prepared to delegate properly.

He named Michael Nicholson, Chris McKay and Brian Wilson, alongside Dermot Desmond, as figures who would have to support that approach.

“In terms of the board, who knows? I mean, you could have the same board that are there if they were willing to give up the same structure.

“I’m talking about Chris McKay, Michael Nicholson and Brian Wilson in those positions. If they are happy, and Dermot Desmond is happy, to say: ‘Look, we need a modern structure. We need the experts to come in, people who actually do these roles, football people to run the football operations.

“‘We’ve got to trust them, and we’ll do the business side. They’ll come to us if something is going to be a major dent in our finances for this year’s budget.’

“That’s how they could operate. Those people could still be at Celtic and do that role if they give up this structure.

“It’s the type of thing Dom McKay was wanting to do. He was wanting a sporting director. Fergal Harkin was one of the guys they were looking at quite strongly.

“I guess with Dom McKay, it was probably a case of he was trying to do too much too soon for a board that don’t like much change.

“But that’s the kind of thing Dom McKay was looking at, because that is how modern football clubs operate.”

Harkin was heavily linked with Celtic at the time, although the club’s position in June 2021 was that he had never formally been offered the role.

He subsequently became sporting director at Standard Liège before Bolton announced his appointment in March 2025.

His remit there covered recruitment, scouting, academy development, sports science and performance analysis, following more than a decade working within Manchester City’s football structure.

More than five years later, Celtic supporters are still discussing the need for a stronger football structure.

A sporting director would need clear responsibilities, proper scrutiny and the authority to act. Recruitment, academy progression and managerial succession should follow a plan that survives beyond whichever manager happens to be in the dugout.

Celtic have spoken often enough about moving forward. Giving qualified football people the power to shape that progress remains a test of how serious they are.