The Celtic boss seeks to end a “debilitating” conflict with fans

“Last night was very disappointing for the club in many ways,” Wilson said. “This began with an organized disruption of the match, causing an important match to be delayed.

“Over the past two weeks, I have met with a range of supporter groups and individual supporters.

“I met in good faith with representatives of the Green Brigade and was hopeful that progress would be made; in fact that remains the case. I also met in good faith with representatives of the Celtic Supporters’ Caucus.

“When I took this position, I asked for unity on the pitch to support the team while I tried to solve other problems. I want to see suspensions lifted and differences put aside, but this cannot be unconditional.”

Wilson took over as interim chairman after former chief executive Peter Lowell stepped down last December due to “mistreatment and threats”.

Relations appeared to begin to improve in January when a Celtic supporters’ group praised Wilson’s call for unity and called for common ground while again calling for changes to the club’s hierarchy.

A recent protest over tennis led to criticism from team president O’Neill.

Wilson added: “Last night’s disturbance and the reasons behind it demonstrate the difficulty we face and which we have had to face time and time again.”

“This is not intended to distract from other issues affecting the club which have been fully recognised. However, the potential for further disruption must be urgently addressed.

“The priority must certainly be to give Martin and our players every opportunity to achieve their goals during the remainder of the season.

He added, “On this basis, I will continue to strive to end this exhausting and unnecessary climate of conflict.”