I won three league titles with Celtic - here's why my ex international team mate is tailor-made for Hoops job
Ex-Celtic midfield maestro reckons his compatriot would be a “perfect” fit for his old club amid doubt over future in current head coach role
Joe Ledley knows what it takes to be successful at Celtic and it’s for that reason that he insists his fellow countryman Craig Bellamy would be a “perfect” fit to become the club’s next permanent manager.
Speculation continues to surround the 46-year-old’s future as Wales boss after suffering World Cup play-off semi-final agony at the hands of Bosnia-Herzegovina last Thursday when the were knocked out on penalties.
That has cast fresh doubt over Bellamy’s long-term future, with his former international colleague Ledley growing increasingly concerned that he will quit the role over the lure of club management.
Bellamy - who had a brief spell at Celtic as a player - remains as one of the front-runners to become the Parkhead club’s next boss this summer and has received the full backing of Ledley, who spent four years in Glasgow’s east end between 2010 and 2014 and won three league titles and a Scottish Cup during that period.
He also believes the former English Premier League stalwart is vying for the role alongside Motherwell head coach Jens Berthel Askou, who has been quoted as being one of the top candidates.
Speaking to Ladbrokes at the launch of Ladisfaction, Ledley admitted: “I’ve said it before and I still feel the same now - Craig Bellamy is a perfect fit for Celtic. They’ll almost definitely be looking for a new manager in the summer, unless Martin O’Neill wins the league and considers staying on for another year.
“And in Craig, you’ve got someone who studies absolutely everything in detail, he likes to play on the front foot, it’s all about possession and being attack-minded. But he also knows what it means for that cub, having played there. He knows what the fans want and expect. He’s young, he’s hungry. I just think he’s perfect for that job.
“I know a lot of people up in Scotland like the look of the Motherwell manager, so I’d say those two names are the ones who’ll be on the club’s radar... but for me, Craig is perfect.
”The big question is whether Wales will be able to keep hold of Craig Bellamy, because I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of speculation around him coming up in the near future, because we played for the national team together. And I’m sure he’ll have been reflecting a lot over the last few days on what his next move might be.
“There’s no getting around it; he’ll be heartbroken that he hasn’t managed to get Wales to a World Cup, and I’m sure a few people inside the FAW are thinking it’ll be difficult to keep hold of him because of the job he’s done. Hopefully we can keep him - I’m just not sure we’re going to be able to.
“This has been his first position as a manager, and he’s dealt with some huge tests, and under a lot of pressure. He will have learned a lot from all of that. And, you know, the way he studies the game... he’s obsessive. He loves being around the training ground, doing all of the analysis, and that’s why I could see him going into club football pretty soon, to be honest.
“I was actually in the building when he got the Wales job, so I popped my head in just to congratulate him and ended up spending an hour and a half with him, where he was telling me about his plans, the structure of the team, how he wanted them to play, and I left the room with my mind blown - I was so excited to see what he was going to bring to the job.
Ledley reckons Bellamy will relish the challenge of day-to-day club management after spending the early years of his coaching career working within the youth academies at Cardiff City and Anderlecht.
“He’s learned a lot from Vincent Kompany, who is doing incredible things with Bayern Munich, and he’s got a great group of coaches around him,” Ledley added. “Time will tell and big decisions are going to have to be made. It’s hard because I really do believe Craig will want to take Wales to a major tournament, but at the same time I can just see so many clubs being interested in him.”
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