Celtic chairman John Reid has vowed to do everything possible to
help the Parkhead club wrest the SPL title from Rangers next
season.
Reid and his fellow board members have come under fire for a
perceived lack of investment at Parkhead, which many claim is a
major factor behind one of the most miserable campaigns in the
Hoops' recent history.
Quoted in the Evening Times speaking at the club's annual
Player of the Year awards this week, Reid said: "I thank the Celtic
fans for their support and I give you my assurance that we do not
take that support lightly.
"We cherish it, and it is for you that we aim to reinstate
this club to its pre-eminent position in Scottish football as
quickly as possible.
"We respect the loyalty you have shown to us and we will do
everything in our power to repay that.
"From the top down, we will do all again to bring the success
that this great club of ours ought to have."
Rangers could wrap up the SPL title this weekend, sealing
Celtic's first trophyless season for seven years.
Reid said: "It is times like this when the character of a
club is tested.
"It's tested in the sense that our capacity is held up to
inspection, our capacity to recover from those trials and
tribulations, the capacity in terms of our character, our strength,
our endurance, our commitment, our resilience, our determination
that we will get through that."
He added: "I'd like to thank Neil Lennon for taking on the
post of interim manager.
"Thank you for taking on the task in such a difficult time
and it is also great to see Johan Mjallby return to the family.
"I want to say thank you to the players. There have been
performances that have fallen way below the standard that we would
expect but I would like to thank you for the guts and determination
to show that you can come back from that."
Parkhead has been plagued with empty seats since Celtic's
Active Nation Scottish Cup defeat to Ross County 10 days ago and
Reid urged fans to get behind the team.
"It's always easy to support a club when things are going
well," he said.
"It's always easier to support a club when it's fashionable,
and it's much easier when times are difficult to sit on the
sidelines and criticise rather than sit in the stands and support
the team.
"Clearly, this has not been the easiest or the best year for
anyone involved with the club.
"It has been difficult, it has been challenging.
"To put it simply, things have not turned out as anyone would
have wanted them to. Despite a very promising start, and it was a
promising start - I remember going to Aberdeen and the football we
watched and we had high hopes - it didn't work out the way we would
have wanted for Tony Mowbray and his team."
