CELTIC’S NEXT MANAGER: THE FIVE NAMES CELTIC ARE CONSIDERING
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 17 minutes ago
- 7 min read
It’s only been a little over 36 hours since Brendan Rodgers left his post as Celtic manager for the second time, and already a series of candidates have come to the fore as potential successors.
We already know that the current interim team of Celtic legend Martin O’Neill and his former player Shaun Maloney have no interest in taking the job on full-time.
I have read more than a dozen different names, some realistic, some fanciful, being linked with Celtic over the past 24 hours. So, I’ve distilled it down to the 5 names that, as it stands, I think are realistic possibilities.
At this moment, I don’t have a first-choice candidate of my own. Though as you will see there’s certainly one or two who I think should be nowhere near the Celtic manager’s chair.
Anyway Let’s Discuss...
Celtic’s Next Manager Will Be Someone Very Different to Brendan Rodgers
I think the one thing we can be sure of is that the next manager will be someone very different in personality and approach from Brendan Rodgers.
Whether the allegations made against him by Celtic Shareholder (not the owner) Dermot Desmond are true or not, Celtic will look for someone who is more cooperative and collaborative in their managerial style.
However, Desmond is not stupid, so he will also be acutely aware of the potentially negative optics of picking someone who the fans will see as a “Yes Man”.
So, let’s get down to the names in play, and the pros and cons they could bring to the job as Celtic’s next manager. In no particular order:
Kieran McKenna
The Ipswich Town manager led the English side to back to back promotions from first League One to the Championship, and then on to the English Premier League.
At one point, he was even linked heavily with Manchester United.
Ipswich unfortunately have since been relegated back to the Championship, but McKenna’s dynamic style of play and his ability to bring the best out of seemingly mediocre players means that he remains a hero to the Ipswich support, and has retained his job.
He's also continued to be linked to managerial vacancies at a number of top-level clubs, and Rangers too.
Pros: Excellent man-management skills, gets the best out of players. Favors an attacking and progressive style of play, something sadly lacking at Celtic in recent months. Knows how to operate within budget constraints. He’s only 39 so, if it works out, he could build a dynasty at Celtic that could last many years.
Cons: Lack of European experience. McKenna may also suffer from never having managed a team like Celtic who are expected to win every week.
Overall: A decent candidate, but his lack of European experience could be a deal breaker, as could the huge compensation fee Ipswich Town would demand for a manager they do not want to lose.
Ange Postecoglou
There’s no denying that Ange Postecoglou understands exactly what managing Celtic is all about. The Australian’s philosophy on football, having been mentored by the great Ferenc Puskas, definitely fits with playing the game “The Celtic Way”. We saw it play out to overwhelmingly positive effect during his 2 years as our manager.
He’s also a straight talker and not someone who suffers fools gladly. His press conferences always made for great entertainment, surpassed only by the swashbuckling football we saw on the park.
Pros: Already managed Celtic before, so can hit the ground running and knows exactly what is expected of him.
Able to recruit players from under-utilized markets, excellent man-manager.
He’s a winner, with an attitude that doesn’t accept anything less than 100% commitment to the cause, and that is something we all need right now.
Cons: Ange has never been one to look back, and he might prefer a new challenge at this point in his career.
At 60 years old, longevity might be an issue, so a long-term plan could be problematic.
We don’t know about his current relationship with the Celtic Board. He left in 2023 after expressing (albeit far more diplomatically) his frustrations with the board’s perceived lack of ambition with regards to competing in Europe.
There’s also a subset of the Celtic fanbase who are wary of bringing back managers who have quit Celtic for “bigger leagues” in the past. Especially since Brendan Rodgers has now done that twice.
Overall: I’m very nostalgic for “Angeball” as it was called. I also, on a personal level, loved to see Celtic’s connection with Japan renewed through him.
Looking at it dispassionately though, we just tried the experiment of bringing back a former manager and ultimately it didn’t end well. The biggest obstacle to all of this may be Ange himself who has maintained a dignified silence on the issue, but probably is looking for a completely new challenge.
Robbie Keane
The first candidate on the list with a direct connection to Celtic, albeit one that only consisted of a 4-month loan spell back in 2010.
Keane has done well for himself since entering full-time club management. He won a League and Cup double in Israel with Maccabi Tel-Aviv during the 2023-24 season. He then followed that up with another league championship win in Hungary, managing Ferencvaros.
Keane has been a controversial figure in recent times, due to his involvement with and significant financial benefit from Israeli football during the start of their ongoing invasion of Palestine.
Keane also attracted a lot of anger in his native Ireland for continuing to draw a salary in the region of £250,000 despite playing no active role with the FAI after Mick McCarthy was replaced by Stephen Kenny as Ireland’s national team manager.
Pros: A proven winner, with international experience and, he claims, a Celtic supporter. He was popular as a player during his short spell with Celtic which may earn him some goodwill from supporters if things don’t immediately go well.
Cons: Many Irish fans regard him as a mercenary, due to his profiteering at the expense of the FAI.
Likewise, his line of “I’m not here to talk about politics” when he became manager of Maccabi Tel-Aviv, one of the most overtly political clubs in the highly politicized nation of Israel, is unlikely to be well-received by those amongst the Celtic support sympathetic to the Palestinians and their fight for freedom.
Overall: First a disclaimer: I’m stating my own opinion here, and not those of ACSOM as an entity. Robbie Keane is one of the most unpleasant human beings connected to Celtic that I have ever met. His, foul, abusive language, and petulant attitude when a young boy asked him for an autograph left the child in tears.
He’s since gone on to show a similar disregard for the feelings of supporters by pocketing 6 figures from his country’s national football association despite doing b*gger all to earn that money.
And don’t even get me started on his eagerness to work with Maccabi Tel Aviv, one of the most vile and racist football clubs on the face of this Earth, with supporters who gleefully sing about murdering innocents on a weekly basis.
This man has no business being anywhere near Celtic or any football club with a semblance of a moral compass.
Marco Rose
We move to Germany for our next candidate, and one that has kind of floated under the radar in the press so far, but whom I am sure Celtic will check his availability.
Marco Rose is only 49 years old, yet he already has more than a decade of experience as a manager. He has won a championship in Austria, and a number of cups in Germany, as well consistently taking his teams into the champions league.
And these teams aren’t small fry either. We are talking about the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Monchengladbach and RB Leipzig.
Rose likes to play a good old-fashioned 4-4-2 formation with an emphasis in his own words on: “fast, dynamic and actively forward football”.
Certainly, it would be refreshing to many fans to see Celtic finally start using two strikers again.
Rose is also available without the need to compensate another club. He has been quietly assessing his next month since departing RB Leipzig following a disappointing run of results earlier this year.
Pros: Proven to be a decent manager in the Bundesliga, extensive European experience.
An expansive, entertaining and attack minded style of play.
An excellent track record of bring on young players and working proactively with his previous clubs’ youth academies.
Cons: Would command a high salary. His abilities were questioned after Leipzig’s recent slump. He may not want to come down to the level of the SPFL, and would expect his ambition to be matched financially by the Celtic Board.
Overall: I’d personally be delighted if we ended up with Marco Rose as our new manager. I think the Bundesliga is, on a technical level, right up there with the very best in the world. Anyone who can enjoy any semblance of success there, whilst not managing Bayern Munich, must be a decent manager in my book.
Kjetil Knutsen
The final entry on our shortlist today is a name that may not be immediately familiar to Celtic fans. However, once I say: “He’s the Bodo/Glimt manager”, you’ll instantly remember who I’m talking about.
Knutsen has done truly amazing things since taking charge of Bodo/Glimt way back in 2018. He took a middle of the road Norwegian club and transformed them into consistent title contenders, a force to be reckoned with in Europe (As Ange Postecoglou learned during his time as Celtic manager) and a club that produces top talent, often moving these players on for huge profits.
Basically, Knutsen fits the mold of manager that both the Celtic support and the Celtic Board would find palatable. He knows how to bring on talented youth, he respects the budget he is given. Perhaps most importantly for fans though, he has a proven track record of getting his team to punch significantly above their weight in Europe.
Pros: Excellent track record, both domestically and in Europe. Able to produce talent and source it from abroad when needed. Can do amazing things on a limited budget.
Cons: Hasn’t expressed any desire to leave Bodo/Glimt and at 57 years of age, he is on the older side of Celtic’s current crop of potential managers. It’s not exactly clear how much of Bodo/Glimt’s recent success is down to Knutsen personally and how much of it is down to the club being exceptionally well-managed in other, off-the-pitch areas.
Overall: Again, Knutsen is a candidate I’d be happy with. If he can make an unfashionable side like Bodo/Glimt a name to be respected in Europe, then I believe he could do likewise at Celtic.
Of course, Celtic’s new manager may well end up being none of the above. But I think there’s certainly plenty for us to think about here.