As all of the other clubs in the Scottish Premiership build for next season, the Celtic board see doing nothing as the best option to retain our title

They say that showing respect for your opponents is the smartest way to achieve victory over them.

There is no doubting that the rest of Scottish football, well – at least those that see themselves as potential challengers to Celtic – respect us as an opponent.

If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be building for the season ahead the way they are.

The Ibrox side have their new manager.

In conjunction with his acquisition, they have two new signings in the door already in Lawrence Shankland, and Ross McRorie.

It is clear that they are looking to build a core Scottish squad over there.

Over at Tynecastle, its full steam ahead.

Eight new data led signings including two new striking options.

Shankland goes?

Not to worry, we’ll bring in two strikers to replace him.

Hearts have completely revamped their attacking options, notably signing 6ft 3in French forward Amadou Basy on a three-year deal from FC Rouen and direct attacker Sabri Guendouz from Beerschot.

Jamestown Analytics has identified the gaps that need filling in their squad, and they’ve gone out and brought in the players to fill them.

They also have their new manager in place.

Wouter Vrancken was unveiled yesterday in Gorgie.

Meanwhile, Motherwell have followed a ‘data-led’ approach to replacing Jens Berthel Askou, and hired Alfred Johansson.

Johansson is a young and upcoming coach, coming off the of a spell managing Rosenborg in Norway’s top flight.

Nobody around Celtic is standing still.

And Celtic’s response to all of this rapid fire movement from the clubs who gave us the most difficulty last season?

Do absolutely nothing.

I spoke at the outset of this article about respect.

It’s clear that the Celtic hierarchy has zero respect for the people who pour their money into the club.

We now take it as a given that the fanbase is viewed with disdain, and has been for a long time.

That’s just our lot.

I’d like to say we’ve grown used to it over the last few years, but you can never grow used to something like that.

Especially when it continues to deteriorate with each passing year.

We ask ourselves how much worse it can get?

Last season we wondered what rock bottom would look like?

And yes, I understand that people from the outside looking in wonder what the hell we’re complaining about.

We dominate Scottish football.

We’ve won 14 out of the last 15 titles on offer.

What could we possibly have to moan about?

But they don’t see Celtic through the lens we see it through.

We see a sleeping giant.

A club that operates at a level that is no where near it’s full potential.

Held back by men who have no vision for it’s future, and continue to narrow that field of vision season, after season.

Or more precisely, held back by one man.

Dermot Desmond.

While we understand, and clearly see Desmond’s utter disdain for the fanbase, and anybody who dares to challenge him, it’s becoming hard to understand his lack of respect for those around us.

Desmond genuinely believes that we can dominate Scottish football by doing absolutely nothing.

By standing still.

And here’s why.

We won the double last season while genuinely regressing at a rapid rate as a club.

We won it because we had Martin O’Neill in the dugout.

Instead of supporting Martin O’Neill, it looks like Desmond believes that the Irishman can repeat the feat he achieved last season with little to investment in the footballing operation.

He worked miracles last season, so surely he can do the same in the forthcoming season?

For what else could it be?

How could we be so drastically underprepared going into pre-season unless Desmond thinks Martin O’Neill can work miracles with little to nothing in footballing resources available to him?

The logical part of my brain struggles to believe this could be true.

But nothing that goes on at this club shocks me anymore.

The level of arrogance from Desmond is astounding.

But not only is it arrogance, it is a complete lack of respect for those who desperately want to take your title away from you.

Derek McInnes is salivating at the thoughts of it.

He openly admitted at his Ibrox unveiling that losing the title in the fashion he did last season stung.

He is out for revenge.

Will he be better resourced than he was at Tynecastle?

Well, he’ll certainly have the financial backing, it remains to be seen if the smarts of Jamestown Analytics will outsmart him at Ibrox.

But you can rest assured that both he and Tony Bloom will be hell bent on exacting revenge for what happened to each of them individually last season.

Desmond doesn’t respect that.

He has two enemies driven by a lust for vengeance, and he arrogantly believes that doing nothing is the best way to respect them.

At the time of writing, the coaching team has finally been confirmed.

Something that should have been a no brainer and settled within days of the Scottish Cup win.

Yet here we are over a month on from that win, and it’s only sorted now.

Maybe now that the board has managed to get over that particular hurdle, they might deign to look at getting a Director of football, and who knows?

Maybe even go insane and buy a football player?

You know the way a bicycle won’t work without pedals?

A similar concept applies to a football team.

Without the right players in the right positions, it doesn’t really work.

Sometimes a miracle worker comes along and makes a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

But even miracle workers have their limits.

Not to mind a 74 year old one who has come out of retirement, and effectively done the absent meddling golfer a gigantic favour by doing so.

It seems that even Martin O’Neill is struggling for respect from Desmond after what he achieved last season.

It’s all about respect.

And what’s becoming abundantly clear about Dermot Desmond is that the only thing he respects is cold, hard, cash.

Every pound is a prisoner in Desmond’s world.

It’s why he’s a “double billionaire”.

And when you have that much wealth, why should you respect anybody?

When you’re big fat ego dictates that everybody should respect you?

That’s how Desmond views the world.

And it’s how he views Celtic.

That’s why we find ourselves in the position we’re in right now.

The old Elvis song, ‘Caught in a trap’ comes to mind.

We can’t get out, because we love Celtic too much.

Sadly for us, the despot dictator is all too aware of that.

He preys on our love for Celtic.

To a degree, he preyed on Martin O’Neill’s love for Celtic too.

He uses our emotional connection to Celtic to get what he wants.

And we keep giving it to him.

That’s why he doesn’t respect us…

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