Former Hamilton Accies and Norwich City boss Alex Neil is reportedly a shock contender for the Celtic manager’s job.
The Scotsman is currently with Preston North End in England’s Championship division. According to the Daily Mail, Celtic are keeping tabs on him after being impressed by his work at Preston.
The Daily Mail states that Preston has one of the lower budgets in the division. Yet, despite that, Neil still has the club sitting 12th in the Championship and just six points off a playoff spot.
Neil’s best achievements, however, came at Hamilton and Norwich. He managed to keep Accies in the Premiership after a stunning playoff comeback against Hibs in 2013. He then had Accies at the peak of the Premiership table, earning a 1-0 win at Parkhead in the process.
Neil’s work bagged him his Norwich job. He won 17 out of 25 matches he managed in the 2014-15 season. After leading the Canaries to playoff success, however, it all went pear-shaped in the Premier League.
His Norwich side finished 19th after winning just nine matches that season. His form dipped the next year in the Championship too, and he left the club having been sacked and six points off a playoff position.
Neil’s stock on the decline?
At the moment, Neil has struggled to build up his reputation to what it once was. He’s still extremely young for a manager, but his CV doesn’t yet merit the Celtic job.
Celtic have to be looking for a manager who can compete in Europe. Neil Lennon certainly ticks that box given his previous experiences. But Neil was found out a tad in his first season in with the big boys down south.
Neil hasn’t proved he can cope in a job such as the one at Parkhead. He may be a promising young coach, but he’ll need to prove himself more if he’s surely to get the Celtic gig.
At the moment, it most likely doesn’t matter who the names in the frame are. At the end of the day, Lennon has the baton and it’s down to him to run with it.
He has a golden opportunity to cement his case for the Celtic job by sealing a treble. If he does, it’s difficult to see the board turning him down.
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