Nicholson’s smiles and thumbs up at Celtic Park on Sunday show he thinks he’s off the hook, think again Michael…

In the midst of the euphoria at Celtic Park last Sunday, Michael Nicholson must have been drinking it all it in.

He must have thought to himself, “It doesn’t get much better than this…”

And he’d be right, days like that and goals like that don’t come around that often.

But they haven’t been coming around very often at all until lately, and if anybody knows the reason for that, it’s Michael Nicholson.

Because he’s a very big part of that reason.

Up until recently, Celtic Park was a pretty miserable place.

For all of us, watching Celtic was more of an ordeal than any form of enjoyment.

That was imposed on us by Nicholson and his cohorts.

So, while Nicholson reveled in the incredible atmosphere at Sunday’s game, he should have taken the time to remember what they denied Celtic of for the better part of this season after the ban they imposed on the Green Brigade.

That’s probably wishful thinking on my behalf.

I sincerely doubt he gives any of that a second thought.

In fact, I’m pretty sure Nicholson’s over-inflated ego is telling him what a fantastic job they’ve done to get us to where we find ourselves right now.

“We acknowledge we’ve made mistakes, but we’ve learned from them.”

That’s the line they’ve trotted out over the course of this season, but nothing has changed.

We are where we are because the Celtic support was returned the right to back its team to the maximum, and Martin O’Neill and his backroom team have managed to make silk purse from a sow’s ear.

Not one single player from January’s transfer window featured in Sunday’s game.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was on the bench, but such was the intensity of Arne Engels’ performance, O’Neill never felt the need to call on him.

The fact that none of January’s acquisitions played a part tells you pretty much what Martin O’Neill thinks of them.

He has chosen to rely on the players who have been there, and done this before.

Nine of his starting line-up on Saturday were all involved in last season’s title winning side.

That pretty much speaks volumes when it comes to what O’Neill thinks of Nicholson’s acquisitions in the January transfer window.

Nicholson, of course, is probably blissfully ignorant of that fact.

All he cares about is Martin O’Neill landing the double, and then hoping that encourages everybody to buy their season tickets and forget all about what went wrong this season.

But this would be a grave error of judgment on his behalf.

The days of accepting the calamitous ways of this board are over.

Celtic fans will no longer accept this level of mediocrity.

So if Nicholson thinks that all of this is just going to die away if we secure the double, I’d suggest he thinks again.

If we don’t win the double, the calls for him to step down will only become louder.

So, to a degree, I’d imagine he’s praying the double will buy him and his board a stay of execution.

In reality, that’s all it will buy him.

Because as soon as they start bumbling around in the transfer market after the World Cup, the pressure will be back on with an intensity level they’ve never experienced before.

My new colleague on Read Celtic, Aodhán, wrote a fantastic article this morning on the subject of Daizen Maeda.

In it, he discussed how difficult it will be to hold onto him after the World Cup, especially if he excels in the tournament.

Maeda is now once again our prime asset after his fine run of form lately.

We all know how the board are like moths to a bright light when it comes to juicy transfer fees.

The offers for Maeda will probably come in thick and fast after the World Cup.

In reality, we need to be prepared for the fact that Maeda himself may insist on moving on.

At 28, his next move is his last chance to play in the big time.

There is no doubting that that will be to the forefront of his mind.

How the board, and Nicholson, conduct themselves in all of this will be watched very closely when the time comes.

Nicholson’s smiles and thumbs ups on Sunday might display the actions of someone who thinks he’s off the hook after almost killing our title chances this season.

I’d suggest he thinks again.

Get this summer wrong, and there will be no place to hide.

There is no margin for error now.

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