Celtic have appointed a new head coach for the U18s team, replacing Stuart McLaren.
McLaren joined Celtic in January 2022 but left in December 2023 with the Bhoys undergoing a shake-up within the youth ranks.
Darren O’Dea subsequently moved from his role as Celtic B coach to Professional Player Pathway Manager with Jonny Hayes joining the set-up to support Stephen McManus.
Reports in recent months had placed Adam Ashgar as the front-runner for the U18s position despite Charlie Mulgrew also gunning for the job. And Ashgar has now confirmed he has taken up the role.
Like Hayes, there’s been no official word from the club but Ashgar confirmed the appointment on his personal LinkedIn account this month.
Adam Ashgar already has youth coaching experience
Currently working towards his UEFA Pro Licence qualification, Ashgar has already been working with young footballers for several years.
He was most recently the U21s head coach at Southampton, installed there for a season having previously worked as the U18s head coach at Sunderland the previous year.
Still just 29, Ashgar also has coaching experience in Scotland having worked at Dundee United in a youth and first-team capacity during a three-year spell.
It’s an intriguing appointment and one which we obviously hope Ashgar succeeds in. It’s crucial that Celtic start to find more consistency in developing young players for the first-team.
Brendan Rodgers has spoken about his desire to do that in recent months and figures such as Ashgar will be key in ensuring that vision comes to fruition.
More youngsters are likely to get a chance to impress at Celtic this week with a friendly against Queen’s Park coming hot on the heels of last Friday night’s draw away to Ayr United.
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