Celtic’s recruitment search will likely already be well underway at the time of writing as we look to rebuild for next season.
Everything that could’ve gone wrong this season has gone wrong as Neil Lennon resigned from his post this morning. It comes with the club effectively failing to win a single 2020/21 trophy. Only the delayed Scottish Cup from last season has been picked up.
But there’s a bigger challenge ahead now for Celtic. We need to ensure that we remain Scotland’s dominant club. Giving Rangers access to potential Champions League money next season is a huge blow. It leaves Celtic needing a complete overhaul with so much importance riding on the upcoming decisions.
Here, we take a look at the current state of play and what we both know and don’t know about the current recruitment search:
What we know
First off, we know that Peter Lawwell is being replaced by Scottish Rugby chief Dominic McKay. A promising start for supporters who wanted major change at boardroom level.
And it appears the behind-the-scenes changes aren’t stopping there. Celtic also appear to be set for major restructure internally as speculation over a Director of Football persists.
Juventus scout Matteo Tognozzi has been linked with the post along with Man City Loan Manager Fergal Harkin. Ex-Bournemouth talent-spotter David Webb is also said to want the job [Daily Mail].
By all accounts, Celtic are at the stage of gathering potential candidates. The Daily Mail reported last week that the club had employed global recruitment firms to try and assemble a list of options. As of yet, there’s been no update on any progress. But it appears that those candidates have now been lined up
As for the managerial speculation, we’re all in the dark. The Celtic supporters have been giving their opinions on who would be the best man for the job. But the truth is the club has let nothing slip on their managerial hunt.
It could be the case that the Director of Football is the first appointment the club makes. Especially with the Hoops seemingly having taken action on bringing one in. It certainly seems from the outside that the club are making efforts to appoint a DoF as their main priority before a coach follows.
What we don’t know
There are several aspects of the recruitment search that Celtic supporters are still in the dark over.
Firstly, what direction the club actually want to go in. If we’re downsizing, then does that also link back to the manager’s hot-seat? The chances are we’ll need to make up for money lost to the pandemic and failed CL qualification. Will that include the level of manager we’re looking at?
You then have the timeline, which is a very confusing aspect of all of this when you weigh everything up.
McKay is due to come in as Chief Executive from the start of July. It would be foolish to suggest that we wouldn’t have a new manager by then. By leaving it so late you’re leaving the new man with very little time to analyse the squad, bring players in, and be prepared for both the European qualifiers and start of the domestic season.
It appears, at face value, that nothing will be announced until the end of the season regarding a new boss. John Kennedy will likely be given the respect of finishing off the season without having to deal with outside speculation. Neil Lennon got that same respect in 2010 as did Ronny Deila before he left in 2016.
An announcement on the DoF before then isn’t out of the question, however. But a new manager? Late-May onward seems appropriate.
As of right now, the timeline appears hazy and it’s all speculative. Celtic look set to make two major appointments in the coming months, but there remains no indication of when they’ll be made.
Hopefully, the coming weeks will tell us more about the direction of our football club.
In other news, the Celtic supporters are hoping the club can strike a deal with a dream duo.
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