The former Sunderland executive director sympathises with Hoops supporters about how they feel their club is being run

16:16, 16 Mar 2026Updated 19:28, 16 Mar 2026

Ex Sunderland director Charlie Methven(Image: Business of Sport Podcast)

Dermot Desmond and Celtic have been accused of “keeping all of their money in a biscuit tin” amid fan fury over the club’s perceived lack of ambition in the transfer market.

The Hoops crashed out of the Champions League play-off round in the wake of a disastrous transfer window last summer and going into the last eight games of the Premiership season sit two points behind league leaders Hearts.

Following Brendan Rodgers’ shock exit at the end of October, Martin O’Neill stepped in on a temporary basis only to be handed the reins for a second time less than two months later after Wilfried Nancy was given the sack following a dismal run of six defeats from eight matches.

O’Neill was able to bolster his squad in the January window, but all four of the new faces who arrive through the doors at Lennoxtown were secured on loan deals.

Relations between the Parkhead hierarchy and supporters are at an all-time low, with tensions boiling over at the club’s annual general meeting back in November after Ross Desmond, the son of Celtic’s largest individual shareholder, launched a stinging attack on their detractors.

The Green Brigade have since been banned from attending Celtic Park as the relationship shows no sign of healing, although interim Celts chairman Brian Wilson has revealed he met with chiefs from the fan group last week in a bid to find a resolution to the problem.

And former Sunderland executive director Charlie Methven – who heavily featured in the second season of the Netflix documentary series Sunderland Till I Die – agrees with the sentiment from Celtic supporters that the club should be spending more in the transfer market because their healthy financial position allows them to.

Asked on the Business of Sport Podcast, if Celtic have become complacent, he replied: “Yes. For the last 20 years, Dermot Desmond has effectively controlled Celtic – despite only owning 34% of it.

“And also, contrary to other owners in football – not that he is the owner, he’s the biggest minority shareholder, of course – he just owns the shareholding, and the club makes a profit every year. So there’s no need for anyone to be putting money in, because the club is simply profitable…

“Bear in mind, there’s this 90 million quid that’s sat in the bank. Meanwhile, Ajax and Benfica and Sporting Lisbon, and so on, Porto, et cetera, are spending everything that they’ve got.

Dermot Desmond(Image: PA)

“Mostly pretty responsibly, but they’re spending everything that they’ve got to try and keep pace with the European top table… and Celtic are putting all their money into their biscuit tin over here.”

Methven, who served as CEO of Charlton Athletic between 2023 and 2025 after stepping down from his role at the Stadium of Light four years earlier, added: “The unhappy fans are right! They’re totally right. Because unlike other clubs… you know I can be quite dismissive of some fans, like ‘Oh, the owners should spend more money’.

“In this case, they’re not asking any owner to spend more money. They’re saying: ‘The money that we, the fans, generate, we want to see that money put on the pitch… or the stadium. Because at the moment, we’re spending all the money, and it’s being stuck in the biscuit tin! Why?'”

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