Celtic’s Managerial Conundrum

It’s fair to say things have changed somewhat since I last picked up my digital pen. Neil Lennon’s second interim tenure as Celtic manager has been less successful than many fans hoped, though he succeeded in winning the league, increasing the lead from eight points to nine, and reaching the Scottish Cup final. Not bad going, but a few drab 0-0 draws, an abysmal derby showing (albeit the league title was done and dusted), and some less than overwhelming performances in narrow wins have left most fans looking elsewhere for the next permanent appointment. The main problem seems to be that nobody can agree on what kind of name we should be looking at.

The appointment of Brendan Rodgers in 2016 was seen as a major coup for Celtic at the time. He was a manager who nobody would have predicted would come to Scotland a year earlier, yet here he was, ready to take on all before him (domestically). He was a box office signing, one that required the stadium to be opened for his unveiling. But last time round, there was nothing like that; indeed, the last several times. Virtual unknown Ronny Deila was Rodgers’ predecessor.

Before him, it was Lennon the first time round, the obvious choice after winning all eight league matches since taking interim charge following the sacking of Tony Mowbray, whose own appointment was met with little more than a shrug from much of the support. In 2005, Gordon Strachan was appointed to mild enthusiasm, having had moderate success in England. You’d have to go back to 2000 and Martin O’Neill’s arrival for the last time that a Celtic manager was greeted with anything like the enthusiasm surrounding Rodgers’ appointment. O’Neill came from Leicester City, with whom he had gained promotion to the Premier League, won two League Cups, qualified for Europe twice, and perhaps most crucially, kept them in the top half of the table. But back then, there was less of a financial gulf between Scottish and English football. For a manager to leave a mid-table Premier League club to come to Scotland now would surely be a much bigger surprise.

The appointment of Rodgers, however, an anomaly though it may have been, has a number of Celtic fans seeking a similar level of candidate to replace him permanently. Others think we are more likely to return to the previous selection, going for somebody less experienced and/or successful, or someone more obscure from a smaller league in Europe, on whom a Premier League side wouldn’t take a chance. And this for me puts the club in a very interesting (and terrifying) position – we don’t know what kind of appointment to expect. This has led to two very different groups of names emerging in the press and in rumours – those that sound plausible, and those that sound exciting, with virtually no overlap to speak of.

For a manager who might consider coming to Celtic, or one who is approached by Celtic, there are two enormously different things to think about – Celtic, and Scotland. Celtic is a massive football club with a global support, one that wins trophies, competes in Europe, and plays good football (where possible). What manager wouldn’t want that? With the best will in the world, playing in Scotland week in week out is less appealing. For the number of people who watch our game, there’s unfathomably little money in it, and compared to the big leagues in Europe, we simply can’t compete when it comes to attracting players. This is why it’s so easy to scoff at suggestions of big name managers (Mourinho, Benitez, Villas-Boas, et al) coming to Celtic. The club itself is why it’s so easy to convince yourself that they just might.

Celtic are on the verge of history this week, one win away from three domestic Trebles in a row. To put that into context, Celtic’s 130-year-plus history includes only three Trebles prior to this current run. Whatever happens in the Cup final on Saturday, Celtic are also two league wins away from ten-in-a-row, that much sought-after, long thought impossible prize. It’s close, and the next managerial appointment the board makes could well decide it. If it does happen, whoever delivers it will forever go down in history and be revered by a massive, passionate fanbase. Again, what manager wouldn’t want that?

It’s this line of reasoning that leads to people excitedly thinking that actually, Jose Mourinho might fancy spending his Friday evenings on a bus to Dingwall, his Sunday afternoons in the dugout at Fir Park, and his Saturday mornings rummaging through bins at the Barras trying to find two matching socks.

In the last few years, he’s had multi-million pound pay-offs from both Chelsea and Manchester United. He can’t possibly need to ever work again, so he could take a pay cut to come to Celtic. He’s won European trophies with three clubs, four of the top domestic leagues in Europe, and a scattering of other honours as well. He has nothing to prove, so he could come to Celtic and figure out a way to break down ten man defences on plastic pitches. And if he does want to get big in the back time one of these days, well, it worked for Brendan Rodgers. Come to Celtic for two years, become a legend, and then get yourself a cushy payday at Everton or whatever.

This is a heck of a convincing argument, if I do say so myself. Of course, it can easily be countered. If he doesn’t need any more money, and he doesn’t have anything to prove, then why would he bother when he could just go and live on a beach somewhere? It all depends on which line of reasoning he takes, what other offers he might have, and how Celtic pitch(ed) it to him if they do slash have approach(ed) him. (As the structure of that last sentence might have revealed, I have absolutely no information at all.)

A similar case could be made for Rafael Benitez moving to Glasgow – a successful manager at European level who commands a huge amount of respect. His contract at Newcastle is almost up, and discussions are seemingly ongoing about him staying. He won’t be short of offers from elsewhere, I’m sure, but Celtic might be an attractive option to him.

He’s unlikely to take over at any of the top sides in England, with both his previous clubs among them, Liverpool and Chelsea, taking part in European finals next week. His involvement with them makes it highly unlikely he would be considered by either Manchester United or Arsenal, and Pep Guardiola’s job at Manchester City looks relatively safe. The only one that might be a real option for him is Tottenham Hotspur, with Mauricio Pochettino possibly moving on after the Champions League final. If he has ambitions to compete in Europe again, then Spurs and Celtic are really his only realistic options in the UK, where it’s reported he wants to stay for family reasons.

It sounds quite plausible when put like that, but again, a lot of it will come down to what the man himself is thinking. He might well be quite tempted by the prospect of immortality among the Celtic faithful, but may equally be put off by some of the baggage that would come with the job, and he will surely have other options.

Then there are the less inspiring names, the ones that people are much less keen to hear linked: Neil Lennon, David Moyes, Alan Pardew, Chris Hughton, and more. The board must be aware which are the more and which the less popular choices, and they’ll want to keep as many fans on their side as possible, particularly with Champions League qualifiers coming up and a bowfin’ new kit to flog. That said, assuming the process is to start at the top and work their way down until they find someone who’s interested, they may well find that the best they can find isn’t good enough for a lot of fans. The club is in the rather tricky position of being successful, but competing in a league that will be unappealing to most managers, as it isn’t very well thought of outwith Scotland. The way any approach or proposal is made is likely to be key in convincing their man that it’s a good move for both parties. I’d absolutely love it if we could attract one of the top tier candidates, who would give the club a real lift, help to develop the players we have, and also be a factor in convincing new ones to come to Celtic. As I’ve said before, there’s a major rebuild needed at Celtic this summer, the biggest in nearly a decade, so while getting the right man is important, the quicker he’s appointed, the better.

A final word, rather predictably, on Neil Lennon. The majority of fans seemingly don’t want him to get the permanent job, and it’s hard to argue with that; few of the games in his second spell have been great to watch. There are rumours (there always are, aren’t there?) that his approach has not been met favourably by some of the players and the coaching staff. He hasn’t made the most of the opportunity given to him to make his case for getting the job long-term. However, he’s working with a squad that clearly needs a major overhaul in the summer, and has had to make do with only one striker when he generally prefers to play with two. He’s also been responsible for some better performances than some of Rodgers’ earlier in the season, and indeed, all the teams he has dropped points to, Rodgers also dropped points against this season. The manager is not the only reason for the performances on the park and the results on the board. Lenny jumped straight into the job with both feet even though it was essentially a no-win situation for him. Win both trophies, and people will say that’s the least he should be doing. Lose either of them, and he’ll get pelters for not being good enough. He took control of a team that was reeling from a manager leaving in the middle of the season, and won two massive games within his first week, the first of them at a ground where he had twice been assaulted. That takes courage and shows his love for our club. While those things do not qualify him as the next permanent manager of Celtic, he deserves a great deal more respect than he’s received from some of the fans. I was really quite shocked at some of the ungrateful comments made towards a man who has given so much for Celtic. He deserves a lot better, and I hope he goes at the end of the season with another Treble in his feather and the knowledge that most Celtic fans are hugely appreciative of what he did as a player, a coach, and a manager, both times around.