Chairman's Statement - The Association of London and the South East C.S.C's

The Association of London and the South East Celtic Supporters clubs is now coming to the end of its first year, the Committee has now been elected and much has been achieved though not as quickly as we would have hoped but we must give special thanks to those who have carried it forward especially the work done by Tony Farrell, Packie Baker and Pat Brusnahan who have got us as far as our first AGM but the hard work must continue if we are to make a success of the Association, many of the clubs we have contacted about joining the Association have asked the same question " WHATS IN IT FOR ME" but the question they should be asking is " WHAT DO WE HOPE TO ACHEIVE AS AN ASSOCIATION FOR CELTIC SUPPORTERS IN LONDON AND THE SOUTH EAST" the answer is simple we hope to gain a louder voice at Parkhead which will hopefully gain us better allocation of tickets, to help us get better deals on travel and accommodation both at home and abroad, bringing together fellow Celtic Supporters and supporting each others social events.

These are just some of our aims and I believe we can achieve them but this will rely on the continued support of our member clubs and hopefully new member clubs.

We would also like to thank Shahid Rafiq for the time and effort he has devoted to getting the Association website up and running again it has taken longer than we would have hoped but once it is up and running it will be a main source of communication between member clubs and those wishing to join.

If we could take this time to reflect on developments at Celtic Park over this past few weeks.
This has been a season of massive disappointment both on and off the field, a wind of change is now blowing through Paradise many of the current squad will depart and new players will arrive hopefully some of our younger players will rise to the challenge and establish themselves in the first team.

The only way we can dispel the pain of our meek surrender of the league title is to reclaim it under our new manager whom I know we will give our full support, we will not forget the job that Martin O'Neill has done in restoring our pride and the unforgettable road to Seville, many of us I am sure thought we would never again watch Celtic play in a major European Final, for those of us fortunate enough to Experience the scenes in Seville and the highs and lows of that incredible season it will remain a memory to cherish.

Finally we would like to thank Martin O'Neill, John Robertson and Stevie Walford for some wonderful memories over the last five years and our sincerest best wishes to Geraldine O'Neill and a speedy recovery.

Sam McEwan