Celtic 'close in' on next manager after Dermot Desmond showdown amid 'hostility among some supporters'
There are two next Celtic manager candidates on the radar of major shareholder Dermot Desmond.
Celtic are claimed to be edging towards Robbie Keane as they seek a new manager.
Martin O’Neill returned on two occasions last season and helped the Hoops to a Premiership and Scottish Cup double. There was tension between fans and the board while performances on the park were lamented at times as a summer rebuild awaits whoever becomes manager permanently. Major shareholder Dermot Desmond has held talks with 74-year-old O’Neill and the club’s former striker this week after his departure from Hungarian side Ferencvaros.
Keane had a loan spell at Celtic towards the end of a playing career that included Tottenham and Liverpool stints. His decision to manage Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv amid a war in Gaza was criticised in his native Ireland and has put off some sections of the Celtic fanbase over his possible hire. Keane won both titles in Israel and Hungary once during stints in those nations.
Who will be the next manager of Celtic?
With a headline that reads ‘Celtic close in on Robbie Keane after talks held with Dermot Desmond’, Irish outlet RTE state amid reporting elsewhere: “After meeting with Keane to discuss the vacancy, Desmond, Celtic’s largest shareholder, is expected to hold a further conversation this week with O’Neill.
“While it was widely expected that O’Neill would be stepping aside this summer to make way for a new manager, he is still under consideration by the Parkhead hierarchy. Much is likely to depend on whether he has the appetite to lead Celtic into a new campaign. O’Neill, who had previously been out of management since leaving Nottingham Forest in 2019, said after pipping Hearts to the title on a dramatic final day that the campaign had "taken its toll" on him, although he has never fully closed the door on staying on.
“The emergence of Keane – who left his role as Ferencvaros boss last month – as the main alternative to O’Neill has been met with hostility among some supporters. The 45-year-old, who had a fruitful 16-goal loan stint at Celtic in the first half of 2010, was heavily criticised in his native Ireland for choosing to stay in Israel as manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv following the outbreak of war in Gaza in 2023.
Why would Celtic fans not want Robbie Keane as manager?
“Celtic supporters are traditionally aligned with Palestine and a statement was released on Tuesday by the Celtic Fans For The Liberation Of Palestine (CFLP) group opposing the potential appointment of Keane.
“It said the Irishman’s "decision to manage Maccabi Tel Aviv during the genocide in Gaza is impossible to ignore" and that "at a time when Celtic requires unity and collective purpose, this appointment would be deeply divisive among the support.”
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