Next week could see big progress for Celtic in DoF hunt

By David Walton

June 9, 2021

With Celtic seemingly set to appoint Ange Postecoglou as their new manager before the end of the week, focus will soon turn to what follows.

The Scottish Sun reported earlier this week that the Hoops are closing in on appointing the Yokohama F.Marinos manager. It was said that he should be appointed by the end of the week.

Postecoglou also appeared to back that notion up earlier today. He was captured waving goodbye to the Yokohama supporters, which suggests he’ll be appointed before Yokohama’s next game on Sunday.

As soon as he’s in the door, Celtic need to press ahead with the next stage of their rebuild. It can’t be that we rest on our laurels or be satisfied that a major part of the restructuring jigsaw is now in place.

When Eddie Howe was being lined up as manager, it was reported two weeks ago that soon-to-be CEO Dominic McKay had identified his Director of Football. It had been claimed by the Daily Record that he was closing in on the appointment. However, it was said that the arrival of a new manager was to take precedent.

Ange Postecoglou arrival must swiftly be followed by his Celtic DoF

Celtic are going to need to crank up their transfer plans almost immediately after Postecoglou is in the door. What isn’t clear is what role the new DoF will have in those plans. Will he be helping to identify players? Will he be choosing the players? What will his role be this summer?

What’s certain is that we can’t do major work on the squad rebuild and then appoint a DoF. That makes next to no sense and flies in the face of everything that appointment should be responsible for. If we’re rebuilding from the ground up, we need to bring him in immediately.

It’s clear this week has been committed to trying to get Postecoglou over the line. However, as soon as he’s been announced, the fans won’t allow the board to forget about the next crucial step.

Dominic McKay (left) was said to be closing in on a DoF appointment / (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Interestingly, it’s anyone’s guess as to who the new DoF will be. Fergal Harkin has reportedly ruled himself out of the running [Irish Independent]. There have been no additional reports on who the new figurehead could be.

But whoever it is, he was said to be close a couple of weeks ago. That should mean big progress is made on that front next week should Postecoglou be in the door. Celtic have absolutely no time to waste, and getting these roles filled before pre-season begins would be a promising step.

For now, however, all eyes remain on the managerial appointment. Nothing further can happen until that’s been made.

In other news, the Oostende manager can’t believe Celtic’s low valuation of Jack Hendry.