Celtic fans will be interested in the claim made by journalist Mark Guidi on Go Radio regarding the clubs plan for their next manager. Journalist Alan Nixon had already revealed that the club were keeping tabs on David Moyes for next season as his Everton contract begins to run down next summer. Guidi has claimed that there is interest in Moyes but that there is another name in the driving seat for the job next season.
Is this the man Celtic need?
That man is Kieran McKenna who was also linked with the job last summer. Guidi believes that the club are still interested in appointing the former Ipswich manager next summer. McKenna is highly thought of in England and will not be short of suitors when he returns to the dugout. Rumour has it that any club who hire the former Man Utd coach this season would need to pay a hefty fee to Ipswich Town to help release him from his contract.
Celtic working towards the end of the season would certainly make sense if that is the case. Many fans will likely want the new manager in as soon as possible for long term continuity.
McKenna resigned after getting The Tractor Boys promoted back to the Premier League stating he wanted to take a season out to be with his family. If Mark Guidi is right, then it does leave Celtic in limbo once again leading to more short term planning which has ultimately left the fans frustrated in recent years.
The club are in a difficult but familiar position
Remember what happened with Eddie Howe? The club waited for an age for their top target to make up his mind and were left scrambling for a new manager once he eventually turned the role down. The club ultimately will be in that position again if they wait for McKenna next summer. Unless they can get some sort of guarantee from him now.
As mentioned, the other name that is being linked to the role is ex-Celt David Moyes. There was a time when Celtic appointing Moyes would have been seen as a real coup for the club. I would suggest that is no longer the case and many fans would have reservations about Moyes and his style of play.
He might be a capable experienced manager but I’d worry about the style of play he’d adopt at Celtic Park and whether the fans would accept it. The other side to that is the club want to do better in Europe and Moyes has proven he knows how to win European competitions due to his time at West Ham.
Two different candidates for the role
If those are the two candidates come the end of the season then I think McKenna is a name that would excite a lot of fans as a modern progressive thinking coach.
One thing is for certain though. Celtic badly needs long term planning, stability and a proper structure in place. The current system with O’Neill and Maloney seems to be kicking the can down the road and the fans are looking for something tangible they can believe in longer term.
Will Moyes or McKenna be the man to deliver that vision? We’ll have to wait and see. Until then, Martin will need to try and navigate these uncertain waters best he can. Which will not be easy as we saw with Brendan Rodgers last season with his contract entering it’s final year.
