Darren O’Dea’s appointment as Celtic’s new under-18 manager was a surprising announcement by the club yesterday.
The move had originally been reported by the Scottish Sun last month. However, despite that, the official announcement came out of the blue in any case.
O’Dea’s move to Parkhead sees him bring a wealth of experience to Glasgow. He’s played for 10 different clubs across five different countries. He’s certainly cultured given he’s spent time in Ukraine, India, and the MLS throughout his career.
And supporters have also been reacting to the news on Twitter to wish O’Dea the best. Here’s a sample of what’s been said:
https://twitter.com/marcmcardle1/status/1173283977769234438
https://twitter.com/chris_bisland15/status/1173233827772293121
https://twitter.com/cborp1/status/1173253191988854792
Does O’Dea have unfinished business at Celtic Park?
O’Dea had a fine spell at Celtic as a player. He managed 59 appearances and notched two Scottish Premiership titles. He also famously bagged a CIS Cup final goal against Rangers at Ibrox back in 2009 that helped us go on to win the trophy.
O’Dea also competed in the Champions League for Celtic, and was a regular in spells for Gordon Strachan. However, things changed under Tony Mowbray, as he was out of the side and sent out on loan to Reading. Further loan spells at Ipswich Town and Leeds United occurred before he was released by the Hoops.
So to sum it up, his career started so brightly at Celtic before ending disappointingly. He just didn’t have the quality to stay in the team regularly. Mowbray and Neil Lennon didn’t trust O’Dea enough to continue building his Celtic legacy.
And that therefore means that there’s a point to prove for the Irishman here. He’s back at his boyhood club, and will want to bring more success to the club than he managed during his playing days. The only difference is it will now hopefully be done in the form of building up the youth talent at Lennoxtown.
Hopefully this all works out for the best. O’Dea had only been with Motherwell since May after hanging up the boots at the end of last season.
But Celtic have put the trust in him to help develop the next batch of (hopefully) Lennoxtown wonderkids.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
