Alan McInally is in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks MON will be handed a “bumper war chest” to fund his Celtic vision

So the speculation has begun about what Martin O’Neill will or won’t get to spend on rebuilding the current Celtic squad to match his vision for the club.

First out of the blocks is Alan McInally.

With Michael Gannon of the Record on hand to promote his fantasy, what could possibly go wrong?

McInally is not exactly somebody who has the inside track when it comes to machinations in the Celtic boardroom, is he?

Nonetheless, he has “told” Martin O’Neill that a bumper transfer kitty is imminent.

I have visions of him and O’Neill sitting down for a coffee and McInally assuring the Irishman he’s getting a big bag o’ cash.

Because of course, Martin would have no idea at all about what he’ll be given as a transfer kitty this summer.

He needs someone like McInally to fill him in on that.

Well, that’s it then, isn’t it?

Summer transfer window sorted, and nothing to worry about.

Because Alan McInally said so.

We can relax and watch the World Cup knowing that everything is fully in hand at Celtic Park for the summer ahead.

If only it was that simple.

Oh, we know it should be that simple, but it never is – and while Dermot Desmond is at Celtic – it never will be.

Apparently, Alan McInally has “urged supremo Dermot Desmond to loosen the purse strings”.

Indeed.

I’m sure that Desmond will listen to all of McInally’s urges.

I find it funny the way the tabloid newspapers always use the same default terminology when it comes to managers being supplied with transfer funds.

It’s always, ‘ bumper transfer kitties’, ‘bags of cash’, ‘pulling of purse strings’ and ‘splashing of cash’.

I can pretty much guarantee that the last time somebody was handed a “bag of cash” in a transfer deal, it was when Wimbledon were playing at Plough Lane in the 80’s, and McInally was in his heyday at Celtic.

I digress.

Back to McInally and his fantasy Celtic transfer kitty for Martin O’Neill.

Here’s some of what the former Celtic supremo had to say:

I can only assume Martin will be given a decent bag of money to bring in some players. He should get it. I don’t think Dermot Desmond can give him 50 quid and then say, ‘go and win the league!’

Speaking to Celtic fans, there was a frustration about, maybe not the lack of investment as such, but the lack of investment at the right times or the right kind of spending. I don’t know if there was an attitude, ‘we’ve got enough to win the league’.

Okay, they did win it eventually. But we could see that is was by no means a certainty and it could have gone either way. I would have thought Martin will have asked for some guarantees because he’ll want to freshen up this squad.

There will be players leaving and he’ll want to bring in others who are really competitive. He’ll want to make sure he’s not just challenging for the league – but also in Europe. It doesn’t look like Hearts will be going anywhere and we don’t know how deep the Rangers pockets are.

You have to think those two will come strong again and Celtic will need to be ready. The Champions League was a massive disappointment last year and that’s something Martin will want to address, because that is the stage Celtic have to be on.

It will be interesting to see where he wants to strengthen and what he’s able to bring in.

He can only assume?

Well Alan, you should never assume, it makes an ass out of u and me as my old headmaster used to say.

You definitely can’t make assumptions when it comes to transfer kitties and bags o’ cash at Celtic either.

McInally thinks Martin will have sought certain guarantees….

Hmmm, now why didn’t I think of that?

Then again, I’m sure the Irishman sought certain guarantees last January, when he decided to come back and fix the mess the football doctor and the Celtic board had made.

We know that at this point, the guarantees of the Celtic board are worthless.

That was evidenced in the players that were handed to O’Neill in the January transfer window.

Only two of six were really used in Oxlade-Chamberlain and Julian Araujo.

I don’t think it’s a case that they intentionally do not deliver on their guarantees, I think a big part of it is that they are utterly incapable of delivering on them.

We just do not have people in the building at Celtic with the gravitas or the charisma to get tough transfer delas over the line.

Nobody takes them seriously.

I mean, would you take Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay seriously?

Especially after the season we’ve just witnessed?

Everybody knows they’re just Desmond’s bitches.

In reality, it doesn’t matter what size of a transfer fund Martin O’Neill is given, he is already handicapped by the fact he has to work with amateurs when it comes to this rebuild.

People whose only vested interests lie in lining their pockets for as long as they can get away with it.

As I said on the Trinity Tims podcast last night, we’re a lot more relaxed now knowing that Martin is in the building for another year.

But he can’t do it all on his own.

And the reality, regardless of what the likes of Alan McInally say, is that he’s on his own.

When it comes to seeking guarantees, O’Neill should only have sought one.

The guarantee that he would have competent people around him to facilitate the rebuild required at the Celtic.

We know that’s not going to happen.

So Alan McInally can “tell” Martin O’Neill all he wants about the transfer kitty he should get.

When you’re dealing with incompetents, it’s all very meaningless.

I wish I could say something more positive.

But you know I can’t.

This is the way it is at Celtic.

And always will be as long as Dermot Desmond is in charge.

Reality is a bitch.

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