Celtic were on the verge of appointing Manchester City Football Partnerships And Pathways Manager Fergal Harkin as sporting director back in February, according to reports in the UK.

While it is not known why a move to bring him in was never finalised, it is believed that there was an ongoing dispute among board members about the sporting director model.

The pursuit of Harkin actually occurred before Dominic McKay was appointed as the new chief executive but it is believed that McKay wanted to revive efforts to hire someone similar to Harkin.

However, the disagreement over the potential restructuring of the club then also formed part of the reason for McKay to stand down as CEO last month. He felt the Celtic board’s refusal to appoint a sporting director undermined his own authority at the club.

It now means that the Scottish side have lost both McKay and potentially Harkin simply because of the club hierarchy’s reluctance to change their ways.