Next Celtic manager claim emerges as BBC pundit states Martin O'Neill alternative had job in palm of his hand
The man in question has formerly represented Tottenham, Leeds United and Celtic as a player.
It’s been claimed that a former Tottenham and Leeds United striker was all but a done deal to become Celtic’s next manager during the summer.
The Hoops cast away any lingering doubts from a run of four defeats from five with a 7-1 demolition job of title rivals Hearts at Parkhead. It moved the champions under Martin O’Neill’s management four points clear at the top of the Premiership ahead of Thursday’s Europa League meeting versus Celta Vigo. Pre-match on BBC Scotland’s Sportsound programme, talk of the long-term commenced, after the Hoops opted to stick with O’Neill following his interim reign last season, rather than appoint someone new.
Pundit Michael Stewart claims Robbie Keane had the job in his hands, following his stint with Ferencvaros in Hungary. A negative reaction from the fans though when rumours circulated over hiring the striker formerly of Tottenham, Leeds United, Celtic and more sparked an O’Neill Plan B that the former Hearts midfielder feels has kicked the managerial can into long grass for now.
Who could Celtic have hired as manager in the summer?
Stewart said: ”This is not a long-term appointment. This is buying a bit of time to try to find a long-term solution. It feels like the last little while has has been that. It's been a constant of just delaying, trying to get the structure in place, but domestically continuing to win trophies, which is then taking the eye off the ball putting the right structure in place.
“I mean, what I was about to say was that no, it's not Martin O’Neill’s fault. Because I'm talking about a structure that's obviously behind Martin O'Neill. I think we all know that Robbie Keane, effectively the job was his. Then the support weren't happy or a section weren’t.
“Then it was like ‘oh well we can't do that’ and then it was ‘right, let's try and get Martin back in.’ It feels that it’s just indicative of a club that aren't really clear behind the scenes of what is needing to be done to move it forward, not just domestically, but more importantly in Europe.
“Domestically, Celtic are the biggest club, they've got the biggest wages, they've got the biggest turnover, they've got the, you know, so many advantages because of the size of the club, but we've mentioned this on numerous occasions. They now need to be punching above their weight on the European stage for them to be viewed as what I would say is successful.
“I don't think that they've got the clarity of vision behind the scenes as to what's needed to happen. I think Martin O’Neill being in charge is a symptom of that. He is a short-term fix. There is no question of that.”
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