David Moyes explains how he ‘lost out’ on the Celtic job in 2016 after meeting with Dermot Desmond

Add as preferred source on Google

Celtic have had a number of brilliant managers since the turn of the century that have brought incredible success to the club.

Martin O’Neill kicked it all off in 2000 after wrestling control of Scottish football from Rangers winning a treble and making Celtic a force in Europe again and the Parkhead club has never looked back since.

Following the legendary O’Neill was Gordon Strachan who was extremely successful after winning three league titles a Scottish Cup and two League Cups and took Celtic to the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time in their history.

Tony Mowbray followed that with an unsuccessful spell and he was replaced by Neil Lennon who won five domestic honours and delivered another Champions League last-16 run for Celtic.

Ronny Deila was then followed by Brendan Rodgers in 2016 and we all know what happened there as the Invincible Trebles team was born. But it all could have been so very different had Celtic gone another way that summer.

David Moyes’ meeting with Dermot Desmond in 2016

All the success Rodgers brought may never have happened if Celtic turned to David Moyes after the former West Ham manager revealed he met with Dermot Desmond before the Northern Irishman was appointed.

Moyes said [Up Front], “So the [Real] Sociedad thing, I have to say, I think was a great situation.
“I loved it and lots of really good things. But if I jumped to Sunderland, I jumped to Sunderland when I’d lost the job at Sociedad, which was in around November time.

“I was out there for about a year and I came back and the summertime came around and I remember I was at the LMA dinner.

“So I met Dermot Desmond to take the Celtic job and in the afternoon, I was meeting Moshiri to take the Everton job.

“I had to give Celtic an answer really quickly because they were going to employ somebody else who went on to be Brendan Rodgers, who had done an incredible, great job.

“But I came away from meeting Everton thinking that I’m going to take the Everton job.

“But things were done slowly and they eventually appointed Ronald Koeman. So I lost out on the Celtic and Everton job.”

Moyes then went on to manage Sunderland and West Ham where he went on to win the Europa Conference League with the London club in 2023.

But despite that, there must be a tinge of disappointment that he never got to manage the club he played for and supported as a boy and I am sure he will harbour an ambition to do just that before he hangs up his managerial suit for good.