Celtic go into their annual general meeting on Friday amid ongoing uncertainty over their manager situation and increasing tension with supporters.
Martin O'Neill is set to take his place at the top table at Celtic Park for the first time in 20 years after the club announced earlier this week that their former manager and Shaun Maloney would remain in interim charge.
Celtic had been expected to push ahead with the appointment of Wilfried Nancy after betting was suspended on the Columbus Crew manager succeeding Brendan Rodgers.
But comments from the Major League Soccer club’s general manager, Issa Tall, suggest there is some way to go in Celtic’s recruitment process.
Speaking on Tuesday lunchtime on the Inside the Crew podcast, Tall said: "I was told that there was a report that said we gave permission to Celtic, but in order to give permission, you need to get an ask.
"There hasn’t been any ask whatsoever. We haven’t heard anything from that particular club or any other person in the past. We’ve never, ever, received something official.
"I’m not saying it couldn’t be something that comes into my mailbox in the next hour, but honestly for now we haven’t heard anything."
A major issue sure to occupy shareholders on Friday is the circumstances behind the departure of Rodgers, who was lambasted by principal shareholder Dermot Desmond after the club announced he had resigned.
Rodgers’ shock exit came after prolonged frustration from the manager over the club’s summer transfer business, which the board subsequently admitted had not achieved their objectives.
The board also took collective responsibility for the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.
They are sure to be quizzed on what went wrong in the summer window, what lessons have been learned, whether the club’s transfer policy and process is fit for purpose, and why the club had £77m in the bank in the middle of the summer.
Supporters, under the new Celtic Fans Collective umbrella group, have been campaigning for major change in the boardroom and executive team and tensions have intensified in recent days.
The club issued a statement on Tuesday that revealed the Safety Advisory Group for Glasgow City Council was planning a special meeting on Thursday to "consider recent events".
The Green Brigade fan group were effectively banned for six matches following an incident during Celtic’s win over Falkirk on 29 October. Police said a steward and two officers had been assaulted by a large group of supporters.
The Green Brigade, which refutes the official version of events, accused the club on Wednesday of a "relentless and cynical pursuit of our group" and "unfair emotional blackmail" amid claims they had been warned of more supporters being suspended if their own ban was not complied with.
The Celtic Fans Collective released a further statement on Thursday stating concern over "significant punitive measures against supporters without adequate dialogue, evidence-sharing or any meaningful consultation".
A statement added disappointment that the club had not supported requests for fan representation at the Safety Advisory Group meeting.
The group added that they had been made aware of three supporters being targeted by police dawn raids over breach of the peace accusations.
Police Scotland said a 30-year-old man had been arrested on Thursday in connection with a disturbance at Celtic Park on 29 October.
