Anger both within the Collective and in the wider support stems from the club’s recent transfer windows

07:20, 27 Jan 2026Updated 14:28, 27 Jan 2026

(Image: SNS Group)

The Celtic Fans Collective has called for the removal of under-fire chief executive Michael Nicholson before the start of next season.

Nicholson has faced furious backlash during an ill-fated campaign to date with his face front and centre of a variety of banners calling for the quick-fire removal of a much-maligned board.

Anger both within the Collective and in the wider support stems from the club’s recent transfer windows, the acrimonious departure of Brendan Rodgers, the disastrous appointment of both Paul Tisdale and Wilfried Nancy plus frustrations over the current window with Martin O’Neill desperately seeking quality.

Celtic currently sit third in the Premiership and face a battle for the ages to keep rivals Hearts and Rangers at bay if they are to win a 14th title in the past 15 seasons.

Non-executive chairman Peter Lawwell exited in December and cited “abuse and threats” as the catalyst for his hasty departure. Nicholson, along with principal shareholder Dermot Desmond has also been met with rage. A supporter mocked him on camera in Bologna last week over the lack of signings. Now the club’s leading fan group have told him time is up.

Celtic Fans Collective’s stinging complaints in full

• Overseen a disastrous summer window where we were desperately unprepared for European qualification.

• Defended Paul Tisdale despite the summer window and a poor January 2025 window.

• Took six weeks to appoint a permanent replacement for Brendan Rodgers, which was incredibly poorly timed ahead of a top of the table clash, a major European tie, and a cup final.

• Ultimately responsible for the failed decision to appoint Wilfried Nancy.

• That decision cost a League Cup final, dropped crucial league points, and damaged player confidence.

• Removed Tisdale and Nancy which was necessary, but left no coherent plan for January due to continued poor planning.

• Turned to Martin O’Neill to salvage the season, then failed to back him with required recruitment.

Celtic fans hold up banners calling for the removal of Celtic board members at full time

• We are now almost four weeks into the January window, and the only business done so far has been two loan deals, as the team sits third in the table.

“Under no circumstances can Michael Nicholson be the Celtic chief executive officer when the summer transfer window opens when he has demonstrated beyond all doubt that he is not capable of doing this job effectively.”

They also cited Nicholson’s words from the club’s AGM as to why he is failing to deliver. The supremo, speaking in November 2025, said: “Although we achieved some of our objectives in the window, we didn’t achieve all of them. We made some mistakes along the way, we’re not happy with where we are. It’s not where we want to be, but we understand the frustrations and anger because we share them. We accept the responsibility for that.”

Tune in to Hotline Live 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, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.

You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We’re also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to your phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.

It’s a fast moving Transfer season and you can follow it all, including a countdown to the window closing, with our LIVE BLOG.