With Martin O’Neill steering the ship until the end of what is proving to be a disastrous season, Celtic are actively searching for a permanent manager to lead a massive summer rebuild.
Looking ahead to the next campaign, the heavy links to Motherwell’s much-talked-about boss Jens Berthel Askou make perfect tactical sense.
The Danish coach has recently outlined an elite vision for possession-based football, built entirely on a ruthless work ethic. Emphasising the need for relentless ‘repetition, repetition, repetition,’ Askou made it clear that ‘our counter pressing is obviously extremely important.’
The Motherwell boss also highlighted that successful teams must possess a true willingness to work hard to win the ball back immediately after making mistakes.
Listening to a manager demand that kind of intense structure highlights exactly what is missing at Celtic right now.
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Jens Berthel Askou to Celtic: do you see it happening?
Jens Berthel Askou details his Motherwell tactics amid Celtic manager links
Celtic have endured a chaotic campaign defined by a total lack of playing style.
After cycling through multiple managers in the dugout, from the sudden exit of Brendan Rodgers to the turbulent Wilfried Nancy era, the team looks entirely lost.
Even the deeply experienced and legendary O’Neill will probably struggle to paper over these glaring cracks, as Celtic’s miserable defeat to Dundee United on Sunday so painfully proved.
Absolutely everything seems broken at Celtic right now. A disjointed recruitment strategy has left the squad horribly unbalanced.
Furthermore, proven stars of the past like Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda look completely devoid of their usual high-intensity energy and confidence. The midfield in particular is far too passive and desperately needs a massive overhaul.
That’s why Askou’s style of play is needed at the home of the champions.
What has Askou said about his playing style?
Speaking to Open Goal, one of the areas Askou astutely spoke about is how his teams counter-press.
Askou’s demands are aggressive and tactically demanding, which would be an absolute breath of fresh air in Glasgow.
If the Celtic board can secure his signature and he can successfully implement those intense standards, Askou might just be the exact manager required to fix this broken squad.
Si Ferry: “Is it a repetitive type of thing, coaching this sort of football? Are you still coaching the same things now that you were at the start of the season?”
Askou: “It’s just repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Again, again and again. Obviously, we have added details and layers to our game as we have progressed.”
Ferry: “Can you tell us what they are? Is that alright?”
Askou: “Not specifically, for example, we have different strategies to deal with different types of press. In the beginning, it was more basic.
Then we have worked our way through different types of formations. Different types of high, medium and low press. Man-man pressure. Pressure where we are plus one, and so on. Plus two, in some ways. Then we have just added even more variations as we have gone along.
“Also, our defensive shape, it was basic in the beginning. Then we have added new formations. New structure.
“When you make a mistake, such as giving the ball away, the opposition wins it, and if you win it back immediately, then you win something from that because the organisation of the opposition is totally out of the window as soon as you win it, and then you have even more space and a better opportunity to hurt them.
“So, our counter pressing is obviously extremely important. That’s actually one of the first things we emphasised in training.
“Our ability to win the ball back. Our willingness to work hard for each other when we make mistakes. If we aren’t very good at that, then we will never be a successful possession-based team.”
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