Celtic’s manager search has now been going on for over a fortnight.
The news of Brendan Rodgers’ resignation was a shock, but the return of Martin O’Neill gave the Hoops a safe pair of hands to see them through to their permanent solution.
O’Neill has been coy on the permanent role, insisting that he expects the club to go for a ‘young and upcoming’ coach to replace him.
Ange Postecoglou, Craig Bellamy and Kieran McKenna were the initial favourites, but the Hoops’ search now seems to have taken a new direction.
Insider David Friel has now given an insight on current contenders Kjetil Knutsen and Wilfried Nancy, as well as O’Neill.
Celtic manager update on Kjetil Knutsen, Wilfried Nancy and Martin O’Neill
The Hoops have won three of their four matches since O’Neill’s interim arrival.
He is assisted by Shaun Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus, all of whom played under him during his iconic first spell in Glasgow.
READ MORE: Three Wilfried Nancy quotes to introduce Celtic fans to surprise manager front-runner
Friel, speaking on Clyde Superscoreboard, “Celtic are in a title fight, they’ve got got a cup final coming up and they’ve got a massive January window coming up, and I think they need a permanent manager. I don’t think Martin O’Neill is going to be that man.”
When asked if that means that the Hoops go for Knutsen, he said: “I don’t think you can get him out early, because if you look at their Champions League schedule, it runs until the end of January.
And they’ve still got to play Juve, Borussia Dortmund, Man City and Atletico Madrid. Kjetil Knutsen has built Bodo/Glimt from nothing. I would be amazed if he walks away from that.
To see that through at the very at least, that would take you into late January. I don’t think Celtic can wait that long. So I don’t think it will be him.
“I think it’s now pointing more towards others, and the one who is now the front-runner is Wilfried Nancy, the Columbus Crew head coach. He is a left-field candidate, however, there are links with people at Celtic.
“The head of football operations, Paul Tisdale, used to work with his assistant manager. Right from the start, Wilfried Nancy’s name was mentioned, and everyone thought, ‘where’s that come from?’
“He has won the MLS Cup, he has won something else, the Leagues Cup with Columbus Crew. I think if Celtic go down the route of a foreign coach, I think it looks more likely to be Wilfried Nancy.”
What Celtic’s interest in Wilfried Nancy says about their manager plans
Knutsen’s lack of immediate availability appears to be a decisive factor in Nancy’s position as front-runner.
67 Hail Hail has also reported that Craig Bellamy is admired by the Hoops, but he too would not be available in the near future due to his World Cup qualification campaign with Wales.
Nancy was eliminated from the MLS play-offs on Saturday, putting an end to his season. The only hurdle to appointing him is agreeing a deal with Columbus Crew.
The decision will ultimately lie with Dermot Desmond on whether to stick with O’Neill or take a gamble on a left-field option from MLS.
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