Have Celtic board already picked the next manager?

With the likes of Rafa Benitez and Eddie Howe making the rumour mill work hard, is the next Celtic manager likely to be much more obvious and closer to home?

Whatever Hoops fans might want, wish for or dream of, the likely replacement for Neil Lennon, as and when the time comes, will probably be simpler and perhaps less dramatic. Probably the word ‘cheaper’ comes to mind too.

As far as we can tell, the likely scenario is for Lennon to remain in place until the summer. That’s not guaranteed and there must be some limit to how long terrible performances can be supported. But before Christmas there was a decent run by the team, if that can be repeated, then rightly or wrongly, the plan to not make any change until the summer is likely to play out.

Howe has been mentioned a lot for some time now as an option. Long enough to follow it up more seriously by now. It’s more likely he is waiting for better options to present themselves down South. Benitez is a hot rumour, though some of the news was based on a fake document on social media which was cleared up by Glasgow Live.  Some media sources were confident despite that, but the move seems very unlikely to be a realistic option, though never say never in football.

Is Celtic’s answer closer to home than we think?

Fans had concerns over possible candidates such as a Roy Keane or Jack Ross. Neither would need to wait until the summer, unless by personal choice to try and avoid being linked to a 10IAR failure. A dangerous tactic for either, allowing others to step in ahead.

John Kennedy may well have been a long term strategic option, but his chances have likely diminished as part of the Lennon team, though the wait until summer may possibly still leave this as an option the board want to see play out.

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Usual candidates such as Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan have apparently resisted suggestions of stepping in, they’d be caretaker options at best surely. Slavan Bilic now mainly has sackings rather than successes on his CV. The perennial candidate David Moyes is doing a decent job at West Ham United and we should also rule out any topical thoughts of Frank Lampard.

So who does that leave? Perhaps Steve Clarke is emerging as the most obvious and likely option. He could be available to take over after the Euros. He could be available to prepare for the role and offer insight into signings well beforehand, alongside his Scotland role.

Clarke wouldn’t perhaps be the most exciting option, but he is less of a wild card, knows the Scottish football scene and fits the summer swap over to some extent. He is tactically aware and can set up a well organised and disciplined team, his expertise and defensive coaching could work well in Europe, if the Hoops can get there. He could be a good start in rebuilding and re-establishing winning form. Is this what the Celtic board have in plan now?