The identity of Celtic’s next manager remains a mystery.
Martin O’Neill is yet to categorically rule out a permanent stay, but he has been clear about his reservations.
The reported frontrunner has been named as Robbie Keane, the current manager of Ferencvaros. His pre-existing relationship with Dermot Desmond will doubtless be a factor.
But in Jens Berthel Askou, Celtic may have the ideal candidate lying right on their doorstep, just a drive down the M74.
I want the next manager of Celtic to be…
Jens Berthel Askou’s 2025-26 campaign is something Celtic can’t ignore
In winning in 90 minutes at Ibrox on Sunday, Askou’s Motherwell achieved something that Celtic haven’t since September 2023.
It was yet another highlight in what has been a stellar season by the Steelmen, equally marked by stellar football.
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If you’d predicted last year that Stephen O’Donnell, Paul McGinn and Stephen Welsh would be playing in the manner that they are for a top-four Motherwell, you’d have rightly been mocked. The Fir Park boss has made a mockery of the idea that you can only play high-possession football with suitable players.
He has improved their squad dramatically, to the extent that no less than five of their players have been named in the SFWA Team of the Year.
Askou has spoken about the importance of “psychological safety” with his players — essentially, ensuring that they aren’t scared to play the way they do.
Anyone who watched Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic can testify that this was something that the Frenchman never achieved.
Askou has been compared to Nancy as a candidate for Celtic; this is unfair. Whilst Nancy was painfully unaware of his surroundings in Glasgow, the Motherwell boss has never been too far away from Parkhead, be that in the dugout or in the stands.
Would you take Jens Berthel Askou in the event that Martin O’Neill leaves Celtic in the summer?
You don’t have to have played or managed the club before to make an impact.
With a major rebuild ahead this summer, the team need to be taken in a different direction, similarly to how they were by Ange Postecoglou. Even a league and cup double wouldn’t change this fact.
A manager with an effective, dominant, clear style of play is central to this. The Martin O’Neill effect may have been a gamechanger for Celtic this season, but their ability to dominate and control games has fallen off a cliff.
Askou’s credentials in doing this couldn’t be clearer.
And make no mistake: he won’t finish next season at Motherwell. His stock has simply risen too high. The chance to get him is now.
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Michael Gannon’s most recent update on Jens Berthel Askou
Michael Gannon of the Daily Record has made it clear that Askou would jump at the opportunity to manage Celtic.
He said last month: “I understand the kind of interest in him from outside.
“And from what I can gather, Celtic are looking at him along with other options. And also, from what I’m told, he is extremely keen on that Celtic job.
“He would be off. I know some people are saying, oh, he’s looking further afield and that stuff. I think, I mean, from what I’m hearing from people around the route, his orbit, he would jog along the M74 to Parkhead.”
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