Pat Bonner has been discussing the massive Celtic rebuilding job ahead of us after Neil Lennon’s departure today.
Ever since the summer, it’s been clear massive change was coming to Parkhead from the end of the season onwards. Regardless of whether we had won the 10 or not, our squad looked certain to be decimated.
With Odsonne Edouard and Kris Ajer coming into the final 12 months of their contracts, they look certain to go. Scott Brown’s deal is also up whilst there are question marks over the likes of Ryan Christie and Conor Hazard as their deals also expire. Meanwhile, a raft of new summer signings have failed to impress with several loan players scheduled to go back to their parent clubs.
And Bonner has laid bare the size of the job ahead of the club. As he reacted to news of Neil Lennon’s resignation today, he told the BBC the following [BBC Scotland, 11:51].
“Up to nine players”
“Celtic is our life when we’re there. It becomes all-encompassing. When you have to walk away from it, it’s really, really tough. I saw how it affected Tommy Burns, even Billy McNeill and Davie Hay. But you know that is what’s going to happen when you go into management.
“Celtic need a new structure. Will Dominic McKay, coming in as CEO, have time to make those decisions? Or will he be involved in those now? I assume and hope that he is, because he has to carry it on. They must have done their homework and have a number of candidates on the list who would fit the bill as manager. Because they knew this day would eventually come.
“Will they take on a director of football? Recruitment is critical, because this team needs to be reinvented. In the next three windows, they are going to need up to nine players if they’re going to challenge Rangers and also challenge in Europe, which is what Celtic fans want to see.
They’ll have to get a goalkeeper, they’ll have to get central defenders, they’ll have to replace Scott Brown and they probably need players up front as Odsonne Edouard is likely to leave. That takes a bit of money and good recruitment.”
Pat Bonner spot on regarding Celtic rebuilding job, but new man must get a tune out of major investments
You can’t disagree again with anything Bonner says. He hits you from the heart when talking about Celtic, and it’s clear he’s thinking clearly regarding just how big a job is on the new manager’s hands here.
However, it’s important not to write off the summer signings this season either. Yes, they’ve all generally had a poor campaign outside of David Turnbull. You wouldn’t fancy bringing them all back again next season if you had the option.
But whether we like it or not, the club have invested in some of these talents. Nearly £9.5million alone has gone into the likes of Albian Ajeti and Vasilis Barkas. We can’t just write them off and say “next”. Celtic don’t have a limitless pot of gold from which to do that. The new manager will need to get a tune out of some of these players.
It’s folly to think that, given the pandemic combined with a lack of Champions League cash, that we can spend spend spend. Money brought in from the potential sales of Ajer and Edouard will likely be used to offset much of this.
Yet at the same time, the scale of the job is massive. Celtic will need to bring in, this summer at least, around five players or so to cover those who are departing. It’s just vital that we don’t expect too much in the way of major spending.
Many would agree, regardless, that Celtic generally have a talented group of players. One that could and should perform to a better degree under a new manager. Let’s see if that’s the case come next season.
In other news, the Celtic supporters were given a disappointing update from Scottish Rugby today.
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