Former Celtic first team coach Garry Parker won’t be returning to the club this summer after he found some new employers.
The 53-year-old had been linked with a move back to Glasgow following Neil Lennon’s appointment as permanent manager in May. Shortly after the Hampden victory against Hearts, the Daily Record reported that Lennon was keen to bring his long-term pal Parker back up the road.
Those reports were then rejected days later and it was revealed that Parker wouldn’t be rejoining Lennon’s team.
Parker has moved on from Celtic rumours
Now the Englishman finally has his new gig. It comes at League One side Oxford United and will mainly involve him working as a scout.
“It’s an interesting role and based around watching the opposition,” he told the official Oxford website.
“We play Coventry on Saturday so I watched them and we have analysed the way they play, and then in the build up when we do 11 v 11 I will set up the opposition in that shape and we can help our own players counter that and impose our own style.
“I will also coach and give my thoughts whenever Karl (Robinson) asks and it has been nice to be around the new training ground and made to feel part of the club straight away.”
Is Lennon still after another coach?
The Scottish Sun claimed back in late May that Lennon was keen to bring in another coach to bolster his backroom options. While Damien Duff and John Kennedy were soon confirmed as his trusted aids, no other major appointment was ever made.
There were rumours of Johan Mjallby or Henrik Larsson coming back but nothing ever materialised. You wonder if Lennon is totally happy with his current backroom setup or whether he feels he could do with some more help.
Whatever happens, most Hoops fans will just be glad that Parker’s potential return is now fully off the cards.
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