THE shock departure of Dom McKay from his post as Celtic chief executive yesterday afternoon could be the catalyst for further significant boardroom change at the club.

McKay’s exit was announced to the stock exchange yesterday afternoon with personal reasons cited for his decision to leave his post less than three months after formally taking over from Peter Lawwell who had been at the helm for 17 years.

It is understood, however, that the reasons behind the departure came after what was regarded as an inauspicious impression in the opening months of McKay’s time in charge. The feeling within the club was that it would be best for all parties if ties were severed now rather than a continuation with an appointment that was deemed to have been an imperfect fit.

McKay left his position as Scottish Rugby’s chief operating officer to take on the role. His appointment was confirmed in January with McKay joining the club in April with a view to overseeing a transitional period before Lawwell’s retirement at the end of last season.

Lawwell, despite much social media frothing, has had little influence over proceedings since leaving his post at the end of last season. There were 12 arrivals this summer and three high profile exits as Odsonne Edouard, Kris Ajer and Ryan Christie left the club with McKay keen to make his mark independent of any offers of support. 

As much as the squad has been overhauled at Celtic this season there is a feeling that boardroom changes, now that the transfer window has been addressed, are also inevitable.

Celtic exited the Champions League at the first hurdle this summer when Midtjylland progressed at their expense. In the immediate aftermath of the defeat Ange Postecoglou, the Celtic manager, was critical of the club’s hesitancy in getting players in quickly.

“I have been trying to be as forceful as I can about what we need to bring in, and the challenges we have had are well chronicled,” said the Greek-Australian.

“We haven’t got players in, I obviously haven’t done a good enough job convincing people we needed to bring people in. I’m not going to shy away from it. I don’t say that because I’m some kind of martyr, I just think that’s my responsibility, that’s why I was brought in.”

Director of legal affairs, Michael Nicholson, will step in immediately as interim CEO.

"I'd like to thank the board and everyone at Celtic for their support and wish everyone at Celtic every success for the future,” McKay said in a club statement yesterday.

Chairman Ian Bankier added: "We thank Dom for his efforts on behalf of the club and everyone wishes Dom and his family very well for the future".

Bankier went on to say that interim chief Nicholson has a "solid grip on how to achieve our immediate and future objectives" having been with the club since 2013, first as company secretary and then head of legal.