CELTIC must provide clarity on the boardroom situation by hiring a new chief executive as soon as possible, according to former player Stiliyan Petrov.

Petrov, who was cagey on his own aspirations to take on the role, believes that the club is lacking direction off the pitch.

He says that the burden of providing leadership should not fall squarely on Ange Postecoglou's shoulders, and that a replacement for Dom McKay must be found to allow Postecoglou to concentrate on coaching the team.

When asked if the situation must be resolved as a matter of urgency, Petrov said: “Of course. If you don’t have a sustainable structure this it’s very difficult to run a club, because everything comes from the top.

“They have to make the right decisions on and off the pitch. The manager is there to coach and manage but if he’s doing more than that it takes his attention away from what he has to do.

“I have studied but they have a lot of candidates for it. I saw Ramon Vega has put himself forward.

“They have to make a decision because you see how important this position is. You see it at other clubs.

“There needs to be people looking at the short, medium and long term, because if you don’t have a plan then you don’t have a direction.

“I hope they can sort out very quickly. There are some other issues that have to be addressed and you need that balance to have success.”

*Stiliyan Petrov was speaking at The John Hartson Foundation Golf Day at Turnberry. The Hartson Foundation supports various cancer charities around the UK.