Celtic are on the lookout for a new manager after Brendan Rodgers returned to the Premier League this week by signing a deal with Leicester City.
Whoever does take over at Celtic Park on a permanent basis will have big shoes to fill, replacing the man who won every domestic competition he was involved in with the Hoops while playing attractive football. His inability to adapt on the European stage saw the side attain some poor results in the Champions League and Europa League during his tenure, and improving upon that will be a clear target for the next boss.
With the former Liverpool manager returning to English football after four years away, who is likely to follow in his wake?
Five candidates to be the next Celtic manager:
Neil Lennon
The Northern Irishman is back in the Celtic hotseat for the time being, taking over from Rodgers until the summer at the very least. His previous spell in charge of the Hoops was a successful one, winning three league titles and having some memorable European nights to boot.
Lennon’s managerial career away from Parkhead has not been spectacular, leading a relegation-threatened Bolton Wanderers for a year and a half in the Championship before taking over at Hibernian, who he did lead to a second-tier league victory in fairness, before leaving Easter Road last month after an incident with a club employee.
Steve Clarke
The Kilmarnock manager has increased his standing as a coach in Scotland with some impressive results this season, but is he the right man to take over the biggest job in Scottish football? It is doubtful the former Chelsea stalwart would continue the possession-based style of play Rodgers instilled in the side, although Clarke would bring with him an abundance of coaching experience.
The North Ayrshire man has this week ruled himself out of the running, but if Celtic were to somehow convince themselves he is their guy, then who’s to say he wouldn’t take the biggest job in the country?
David Moyes
It’s official: David Moyes is the new Alan Curbishley, repeatedly being linked with jobs that no one is sure he even has a realistic chance of getting. The Scot redeemed himself somewhat by helping West Ham stave off relegation last season, but his reputation has barely recovered from his stints at Manchester United and Sunderland, if at all.
Still, Moyes would, in theory, be familiar with the Scottish game, has relative experience of European football, and as he demonstrated for 11 years with Everton, his best work comes when steadily building a side in his image over a long period of time, which could be what the club need right now. Again, style of play may not be the most attractive, but as an ex-Celtic player the fans might cut him some slack.
Michael O’Neill
An intriguing option for the Celtic hierarchy to consider, O’Neill has been working wonders with the Northern Ireland team over the past seven years, guiding the national side to the last-16 of Euro 2016 in the process. The Portadown native came to prominence after leading Shamrock Rovers to the group stages of the Europa League in 2011, the first time a League of Ireland club had ever done so.
The former Newcastle United player turned down the opportunity to take over the Scotland job last year, but there is a feeling that he may have taken his charges as far as he can, and that the Celtic job may be too big to turn down.
Henrik Larsson
Now we’re talking. Other than possibly O’Neill, none of the serious candidates for the job really get the blood flowing or even raise an eyebrow. But the return of Celtic Park’s favourite son? Now that is something to get excited about.
Since retiring from playing football, Larsson has managed a number of Swedish sides without achieving a great deal of success. In fact, at Landskrona, he flopped massively, while his last job at Helsingborg resulted in a group of fans attacking the ex-striker and his son Jordan after the club were relegated in a play-off.
If the Swede does return to his second home, it might be better that he does it as an assistant coach.
Other potential candidates: Paul Lambert, Ralf Rangnick, Graham Potter, Roberto Martinez, Mikel Arteta, David Wagner.
