Rafa Benitez was “aware” of Celtic speculation

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Rafa Benitez was apparently “aware” of being linked with the Celtic job over the last few weeks, according to a senior ITV journalist.

Peter Smith had an exclusive chat with the current Newcastle United manager ahead of last night’s UEFA Champions League final. And, speaking on his Twitter earlier today, he said the following about Benitez’s comments on Celtic.

To sum up, Benitez was aware of the speculation and even consulted someone who knows the city well about the job. According to Peter Smith, Benitez decided against it, but didn’t even hold talks with the Celtic board.

Instead, Celtic of course appointed Neil Lennon as permanent manager after the Scottish Cup final last Saturday. Peter Lawwell effectively came out post-match and said that the Hoops didn’t even talk to anyone else (The Scotsman)

Clearly a small interest there

So how did Celtic perhaps miss a trick? Well it appears as though there was an interest there from Benitez. It’s clear that his head was tilted enough in our direction to give it some thought.

During that period, Celtic could’ve done with doing all they could to talk to him about a potential move to Parkhead. Benitez has still to sort out his future with Newcastle United. So there is still uncertainty about where he could manage next season.

If the words from Peter Smith are true, Celtic could’ve tried to convince Benitez about why Parkhead could be right for him. But instead it appears we haven’t bothered to go out and do our all to find the right man.

This is, of course, no slant on Lennon. He could and hopefully will turn out to be a success. He deserved an interview for his work last season, and could easily have been considered as one of the favourites.

But when a manager with such a high profile and success rate like Benitez is out there and considering the job, it was surely the board’s duty to try and have a chat with him.

Unfortunately, there was no head-hunting. Instead, we sat back and gave it to Lennon, with Lawwell confirming in the Scotsman that the club “kept their word” with Lennon.

So all the best to Neil ahead of the coming campaign. But Benitez’s apparent comments do make you think twice about whether we could’ve swayed him to Parkhead.