Incoming chief executive Dominic McKay is to start at Celtic earlier than expected, with his departure from Scottish Rugby coming on 16 April.

He will join Celtic three days later and succeed Peter Lawwell on 1 July as originally planned.

The club say Lawwell and McKay will work together to "ensure a smooth transition".

Celtic are seeking a successor to manager Neil Lennon, with Eddie Howe the strong favourite for the job.

McKay was with Scottish Rugby for 13 years and was promoted to chief operating officer in 2015.

He has been leading the governing body's commercial, marketing, ticketing and communications activity and the management of Murrayfield Stadium.

McKay has also overseen the commercial activities of Scotland's two professional teams, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby, and was the most recent chair of the Pro14 league.

Lawwell has spent 17 years in the chief executive role, with Celtic winning 29 trophies in that time.

However, this season has not been a success, with Rangers crushing hopes of a 10th consecutive title, while Ross County ended their pursuit of a fifth League Cup in a row.

Celtic fell at the second qualifying round in the Champions League and went on to finish bottom of their Europa League group.

A fifth successive Scottish Cup remains a target, with an Old Firm derby at Ibrox to come in the last 16.