Soccer: McCann ends his silence
Monday, 2 October 2000 20:42Former Celtic chief executive Fergus McCann has ended the silence he has maintained since leaving the club by releasing a statement, which takes a swipe at certain club members who, since he left, have been critical of the way he did his job.
The statement read, "I have had my family's privacy invaded and have had them endure false and damaging attacks on my reputation in the form of articles, interviews and other publications by various individuals connected with, or claiming to be supportive of Celtic. They have sought to take advantage of my absence and silence to advance their own agendas or indeed shift blame for their own failings. I am particularly disappointed that the club's own publications have been used on occasion for this purpose, although I have received apologies for this from the Celtic board and assurances that this will not recur. My position is that, at this time, I shall continue to refrain from publicly responding to or dealing with the above as I feel it would not be in Celtic's best overall interests. This is consistent with my practice during my time in Scotland where my reputation was at times distorted or even damaged while I took difficult decisions that were made for Celtic's benefit."
Celtic have since reacted to McCann's statement, acknowledging the work he did while at the club and pointing out an August company report by chairman Brian Quinn, which says that McCann was part of the rebirth of Celtic and that he was also part of Celtic's history.
Filed by Johnny Proby
