The biggest call Celtic will make this summer is who will be the club’s next manager.
Regardless of what Celtic, led by Martin O’Neill, can achieve this season, some monumental and defining changes need to be made from top to bottom.
One of the names linked to the Celtic manager’s role is Craig Bellamy, and one man who knows him very well is Dean Saunders, who was asked about the current Wales boss possibly taking the Parkhead gig.
“He does know how to get his team playing,” stated Saunders. “Unfortunately for us, you can’t sign players at the international level, so the players aren’t good enough to try and play the way he is getting them to play.
“But he has stuck with it. He has done well with the players he has got. He isn’t hammering the players.”
Wales failed to reach the 2026 World Cup, which isn’t a great look for Bellamy, but it does mean that he will be free in the summer.
Should Celtic make a decision on Martin O’Neill’s permanent future before the end of the season?
Dean Saunders says Celtic manager target Craig Bellamy has the right style of play
One issue Celtic have is the fact that they need to appoint a new manager as soon as possible, but what if they want somebody who is set to take charge of a nation at the 2026 World Cup?
That might mean the champions of Scotland having to look elsewhere, which puts Bellamy’s name back on the table, because he doesn’t have any matches to deal with this summer.
According to Saunders on talkSPORT, he feels Bellamy has the quality to succeed as a manager, but he just doesn’t have the ingredients to do what he wants, given what he has to work with at Wales.
Charlie Mulgrew: “I wanted to ask you, what do you think of Bellamy as the next Celtic manager? Fellow Welshman.”
Saunders: “Well, it’s his first job, the manager of Wales. He has a philosophy in his head, a way he wants his team to play, and that’s half the battle.
“When you stand up in front of a group of players, and you are convincing yourself you are telling them what’s right. Even if you are wrong, they will go with you.
“So, he does know how to get his team playing. Unfortunately for us, you can’t sign players at the international level, so the players aren’t good enough to try and play the way he is getting them to play.
“But he has stuck with it. He has done well with the players he has got. He isn’t hammering the players.”
Ally McCoist puts Robbie Keane’s name on the table
Bellamy isn’t the only former Celtic player linked to the manager’s job because Robbie Keane’s name has also been doing the rounds.
The Ferencvaros boss is pushing for the title in Hungary, and from Ally McCoist’s perspective, Keane is the man for the job.
McCoist wanted to use Frank Lampard, who has guided Coventry to the Premier League after 25 years, as an example of ex-players doing the hard graft.
“Do you know what I do like?” said McCoist. “Maybe another potential Celtic manager. I love to see old ex-players.
“When I say old, I mean ex-players coming in. Taking their badges. Doing their bits and pieces. Frank Lampard is a great story down the road.
“Robbie Keane, I think, would be another one that would come into the equation.”
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