Paul Tisdale has Celtic fans asking Doctor Who but my sources tell me there's substance behind the style - Chris Sutton

Sutty thinks Tisdale could fit the bill if Celtic want to tweak their off field structure in the longer term

Celtic might be about to call on the Football Doctor – while supporters wonder Doctor Who?

Paul Tisdale actually looks a bit like one of the characters who would be flying around in the Tardis with his flamboyant style. But Celtic fans shouldn’t rush into any judgements. I’m not sure how the Trilby hat or cravats would go down in Glasgow but by all accounts there is a bit of substance behind the style.

Speaking to people in England, Tisdale has a strong reputation in the game and is generally regarded as knowing his stuff. Celtic are on the search for someone to take over as head of football operations and this guy might fit the bill. It would certainly be an interesting appointment. Tisdale spent years as manager at Exeter City and it’s well known how he took the club through the divisions and was there to bring through talents such as England’s Ollie Watkins and Wales cap Ethan Ampadu.

He’s been working as a self-styled ‘football doctor’, which might sound a bit much but he has obviously impressed with his work enough to have had an input into several clubs in the Premier League. Celtic could be next. The thing about Celtic though is they may be bringing in a doctor but there won’t need to be extensive surgery.

I know Brendan Rodgers went on record in the summer saying things were not quite where he wanted them to be in the recruitment side. But they still came out of the window in a strong position, with the likes of Arne Engels looking a good find, on top of the deals for previous recruits like Paulo Bernardo and Adam Idah.

No one can accuse Celtic of failing in the player recruitment model when they regularly sell players for upwards of £20million – with Matt O’Riley and Jota going for £25m-plus over the past two summers. Celtic have a fortune in the bank so Tisdale – or anyone else for that matter – won’t be coming into a club needing intensive care.

They have a solid squad and a top class manager – and you can bet Rodgers will have a say in this appointment as well. He is in a position of power right now, just like Ange Postecoglou before him and like Martin O’Neill in my time at the club.

Rodgers is calling a lot of the shots and that is understandable given he has a track record for delivering. The question will be what kind of structure does Celtic want to have in the future. It’s different at every club.

Some will have an all powerful chief executive who is pulling the strings. Others will have a director of football or sporting director who has the major say in signings, while the manager is more of a head coach.

Then there are sides where the manager is the man who makes everything tick. He’ll be answerable to the people in the boardroom but might have autonomy when it comes to the football department.

You’d think Celtic is more of the latter under Rodgers right now but the tweaks to the system with a football operations appointment might allow him to delegate some of the other stuff. Tisdale is certainly an interesting character – and one in complete contrast to the likes of chief executive Michael Nicholson. He likes to remain in the background and you barely hear from him.

Tisdale seems a more colourful character, and not just because of his attire. It’s a situation worth watching – which is what armchair fans won’t be able to do with the game against Aberdeen next weekend.

Listen, I’m not one to sit on the fence but I can see both sides of the argument over this so-called television blackout. Do I think Celtic v Aberdeen should be screened live? Absolutely. It’s a top of the table clash and the game of the season so far.

But the broadcasters have their hands tied. I understand Celtic wanting to defend their season ticket sales and not wanting to risk punters not turning up. We saw what happened with the Rangers game against St Johnstone on the Sunday night recently, where there were empty seats all over Ibrox.

I’m sure Celtic fans would turn up regardless of the kick-off time whether it was on television or not, given the nature of this game but I can see the argument. The broadcasters get a bit of a criticism for this stuff but their hands are tied. The restriction on the amount of home games is a real conundrum.

What happens if Sky do show this one – but then have bust their allowance for Celtic Park when the title race gets into the home straight. There would be an outcry from fans. You can’t win really. If the game was shifted to another time, there would be moaning about the scheduling,

Aberdeen fans might grumble about an early start, Celtic might whinge about recovery time before their Champions League clash against Atalanta. You just know people would find something to complain about.

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As far as I am concerned, I would love to see the biggest games in Scotland on the box, whether it’s Celtic against the Dons, Rangers facing Hearts, the Edinburgh or Dundee derbies, you name it.

But the clubs are the ones who prevent this happening. They only allow a certain number of games and the financial incentives to take on a couple more is obviously not lucrative enough for Celtic to accept.

Until the clubs agree to change it, that’s just the way it’s going to be and the broadcasters will need to deal with it accordingly. Even Doctor Who would struggle to figure this one out.

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