Pundit Michael Stewart has put forward cases for Rafa Benitez, Frank Lampard and Steve Clarke becoming the next permanent Celtic manager.
Stewart has been one of the most incisive and accurate voices in the media on Celtic’s dreadful season. He has credibility with the support, to the extent that Celtic himself used him as a pundit earlier this season.
In a new column for BBC Scotland, he’s taken a look ahead at the Celtic rebuild and named three men who could be tempted by the job after Neil Lennon’s resignation.
Stewart said: “Rafa Benitez has done some incredible work. To land him, it would probably take principal shareholder Dermot Desmond pulling out the stops and saying, ‘What do you want? Right, there you go.’ Like any top name, he would look for assurances and guarantees. But he might view Celtic as a place to enjoy himself, finish his career and sail off into the sunset.
“Frank Lampard is young and relatively inexperienced, but I think he’d be looking at Celtic as an opportunity to move back down south fairly quickly.
“I’m loath to bring up Steve Clarke, but it’s inevitable he will be discussed. He’s been successful with Scotland as well and not only do the Euros finish days before Celtic’s first prospective Champions League qualifier but the World Cup is only next year. That would certainly help entice Clarke to stay put, but I would imagine Celtic will definitely look to speak to him.”
Has Michael Stewart named the dream Celtic appointment?
I’d suggest one of those names sticks out above the others for Celtic supporters. Benitez has long been a dream appointment for many fans. There was heavy speculation about him joining the Bhoys after Brendan Rodgers left the club.
How likely it is, is another matter. It just doesn’t seem feasible for Celtic to go all out on Benitez and his coaching staff at the same time as committing to a massive restructuring.
Frank Lampard would make more sense but there’s an experience issue there. He was a natural-born winner as a player, but has he proven himself at the managerial level yet?
As for Steve Clarke? He might be a little austere for Celtic supporters. Yes he’s done well with Scotland and transformed Kilmarnock but something just feels ill-fitting about him in the Bhoys dugout.
The options Stewart mentions at least indicate the different style and stature of manager that Celtic could go for over the next couple of months.
It’s going to be fascinating to see which route we go down.
In other news, Stephen McGowan has named 2 managers who will put their name forward for the Celtic job.
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