Neil Lennon claims Dermot Desmond is the main reason Celtic have dominated the Scottish scene in the 2000s.
And the fomer Hoops boss believes Celtic will stay there as long as the 70-year-old billionaire businessman and major shareholder remains the power behind the scenes. Lennon said: “It’s difficult to see an end to Celtic’s domination for a long time yet and that’s not Celtic’s fault – it’s up to Rangers and the rest of Scottish football to try and catch up to them. I put that success all down to Dermot Desmond. He was the one who broke the mould in 2000 when Rangers had just won their 11th title in 12 seasons by finishing 21 points ahead of Celtic. He brought Martin O’Neill in as manager and bankrolled big-money signings like Chris Sutton, John Hartson, Joos Valgaeren, Alan Thompson and myself.
“Dermot has also invested in quality managers so that even when Celtic couldn’t compete with the big English clubs in the transfer market they could still find top-class players who had flown under their radar – players like Victor Wanyama, Virgil van Dijk, Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard.
“They were all sold on for a profit and the club kept winning things and Dermot deserves an enormous amount of credit for that.”
Yet many fans reckon the club is just a rich man’s plaything for Desmond who rarely attends Celtic matches. But Lennon said: “He comes in for a ridiculous amount of stick from supporters and I don’t understand that. When you look back at the 25 years he’s been the major shareholder it’s been success almost all the way – a UEFA Cup final, three times in the last 16 of the Champions League plus all the domestic triumphs.
“It’s been a golden period and he’s been at the forefront. I don’t think he’ll like being given the credit for it but some of the stick
he gets simply isn’t justified.”
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