Under fire Celtic board gain ally amid fan fury as feeder club left touched by warm Parkhead welcome

The Celtic board have been under fire from fans this week - but they have some pals in the shape of Austrian feeder club Admira Wacker.

Raging punters let the Parkhead powerbrokers have it after defeat to Hearts swung the title race door open even wider. It's the first time since 2013 they have lost two league games on the spin and while there was frustration directed at Brendan Rodgers and the players, it was chants of 'sack the board' that grabbed the headlines.

But Peter Lawwell in the decision makers do have some friends in Austria. A delegation from the Modling side, who have been Austrian champions nine times, but now play in the second tier, were at Parkhead and Lennoxtown last week and took in their Champions League win over Feyenoord. They are a feeder club for Celtic and the Hoops have loaned them Scotland Under 21s defender Matthew Anderson and keeper Tobi Oluwayemi.

And they were taken aback by the welcome they got from the Parkhead side to their delegation - which included manager Thomas Pratl and technical director Gerhard Fellner, who used to play for Falkirk and St Mirren.

Fellner said: "The way the Celtic family welcomed us was very impressive. Every door was open - we were able to get an idea in all areas. The winning mentality that is instilled in everyone in the club from an early age is impressive. Everyone at the club believes in Celtic - and Celtic believes in them.

"The openness from Celtic was great for us. The manager Brendan Rodgers personally asked about how loan players Matthew Anderson and Tobi Oluwayemi were getting on. For me, it's a sign that both of them are not just numbers that were sent abroad somewhere."