The search for a new Celtic manager looks like it is heading into a second week. With the club being linked to various names across the football spectrum, it does seem as though we are open to speaking to a variety of people to get the right candidate to replace Ange Postecoglou.
One name that is heavily linked to Celtic is Enzo Maresca. With reports claiming that Celtic will look to approach him in the coming days, the Italian does seem high on Celtic’s potential manager list.
But just how good is Maresca? Could he really take this group of players and improve on this season’s treble? It seems so according to former Scotland midfielder, Robert Snodgrass.
Snodgrass has played against Celtic this season for Hearts. He has also played under Enzo Maresca when the Italian was part of the West Ham backroom team back in 2019, so if anyone is well placed to cast their opinion on how the current Manchester City assistant manager could at Celtic, it’s him.
Snodgrass said [Daily Record], “I played against Ange’s team last season for Hearts so I saw them at close quarters. But I genuinely believe Enzo could go in and make those players better. No doubts. What I loved about him at West Ham was he took the time to work with players and improve them.
“He was a coach so didn’t have as much control as you do as a manager. But at Celtic he could take that to a different level. He’ll identify areas in certain players’ game, work on it, make them better and that in turn will help the team.
“That’s what Enzo does, he’s got that in abundance. Celtic have just won a Treble and were relentless. For the last 10 years they’ve been the dominant force in Scotland. So they have that instilled into them already. But I believe Enzo could give them something extra.
“He will educate those lads on a different style, a different process. He has been used to a certain culture at Man City, in terms of how they do things. So he’ll bring with him all that experience. He’ll go to the very top. We all used to talk about it at West Ham. The players had no doubt he would develop into one of the best coaches around.”
If what Snodgrass says is correct and he could make improvements to the players already at the club, it’s frightening to think what he could achieve with them if he was appointed as the Celtic manager.
With the likes of Jota, Kyogo, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Reo Hatate all being in superb form for Celtic in this treble-winning season, if Maresca can kick them on a level then not only will be unstoppable domestically next season, we should make improvements in Europe as well.
However, looking at Maresca objectively, hiring someone with limited experience as a manager can seem like a risk. Maresca’s only time as a senior manager was at Parma in 2021.
He was appointed in May of that year with the objective of trying to get them back into the Serie A. Six months later he was dismissed after a poor run of results. [Parma FC]
He then returned to Man City to work under Pep Guardiola. On the flip side, there is no doubt he is a brilliant coach. He is highly rated by Guardiola and would bring a style of football that is akin to what we have seen under Ange Postecoglou.
In other news, “He has that ambition”; Long-time Enzo Maresca ally talks up his suitability for Celtic
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