Craig Bellamy hasn’t been ruled out of the running for the Celtic job by Stephen McGowan.
That’s despite Bellamy himself appearing to rule himself out by reaffirming his commitment to honour his contract as Wales boss.
It’s also despite Dermot Desmond reportedly having his eye on Robbie Keane after holding talks with him in London this week.
Per McGowan’s latest information, it might not yet have been narrowed down to a two-horse race between Keane and Martin O’Neill
If it comes down to these two… who are you picking as Celtic manager?
Stephen McGowan: Craig Bellamy still wants to speak to Celtic
McGowan gave his update on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast: “I think if I told you I knew for sure what was happening, I wouldn’t be honest.
“I mean, they’ve kept it pretty tight. I think they are talking, this week, to Martin O’Neill again.
READ MORE: Robbie Keane remains Celtic frontrunner over Martin O’Neill: update from Mark Guidi
“He’s had provisional talks with Dermot Desmond and he will speak to him again. I think they discussed various options before and now they’re still not really particularly close to an agreement. So that has to be resolved.
“They have to see what Martin wants to do, what they want to do with him as well. It has to suit both parties.
“I mean, if you’re Martin O’Neill and, as you say, you’re 74, you’re not sure if you want to commit long-term, well, you’re in quite a strong position.
“You only commit if it suits you. And I think it will have to be a deal which really suits his lifestyle and the way he wants to live his life just now, if he can be bothered with it. And that has to be resolved.
“They’re also speaking to Robbie Keane. As you say, he is a polarising figure. There is this Israel issue —where he worked on Maccabi Tel Aviv — in the background, which seems to perplex a lot of Celtic supporters.
“There’s one other candidate I wouldn’t entirely rule out yet, even though he appeared to do it himself yesterday, and that’s Craig Bellamy, the Wales manager.
Your reaction to the latest development in the Celtic manager race?
“Now, he said in the pre-match press conference before they played against Ghana that he was committed to his job.
“I think that falls into the category of: ‘What else could he say?’ He was at a Wales press conference talking to a lot of Welsh journalists.
“But I think Celtic want to speak to him. I think he would be interested in having a conversation. Whether that goes anywhere, I don’t know.”
Craig Bellamy’s Celtic credentials
Bellamy’s credentials for the job go far beyond the fact that he enjoyed an excellent loan spell at the Hoops in 2005, under O’Neill himself.
He is a driven football obsessive who was also blessed to play under Bobby Robson, Rafa Benitez, Roberto Mancini and Kenny Dalglish.
He has spent two years in charge of Wales, having previously worked alongside Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht and Burnley, rejecting the chance to follow him to Bayern Munich.
Prising him away from Wales won’t be easy given the prospect of a home EUROs, but he reportedly has admirers at the club.
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