After losing out on Jens Berthel Askou, Celtic are continuing their search for a new manager. Martin O'Neill will likely depart the club after Saturday's Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline, and one of the leading candidates to take over has just quit his current job.
Robbie Keane, who is said to be the frontrunner, resigned as the manager of Hungarian side Ferencvaros on Friday. His side lost out on the title by one point this season, which has led many people to doubt him, but the Hoops see him as a viable option going into next season.
It won't be simple though, as he has been heavily linked with Slovan Bratislava in recent days. He is certainly going somewhere, but whether his destination will be Slovakia or Scotland is yet to be seen.
Berthel Askou's move to Ligue 1 side Toulouse has now been confirmed, and he was most Celtic fans' preferred option out of the two. There is still a chance that O'Neill could remain in his role, but we won't hear any news about that until after the final. We'll be hoping for a Hoops victory either way, because if the 74-year-old is leaving, we need to send him out on a high.
When asked if he could stay, O'Neill said: "I would expect Dermot to talk to me. I wouldn’t expect him to say, ‘Look, there’s a five-year deal’. If he does, that takes me up to 93!
"It’s whether I’d be up for the challenge again, really. Our club have to really look at it and see that the challenges are coming, which is great."
Work to do in the transfer market, but Celtic need a manager first
One thing is for sure: there is a lot of work to do in the transfer market for Celtic. However, before any of that can begin, we need a new manager through the door. If we bring in players before that, we risk squad members not fitting the head coach's playstyle, which could be terrible news for the next campaign.
Whoever comes in will be praying that the board backs them properly, as will Hoops fans. During Brendan Rodgers' time in charge, there was debate over 'club signings' rather than 'manager signings', and we don't want to see a repeat of that. If we want to have an easier time at the league title next season, we need to improve in our weakest positions, and with many transfer targets already being looked at, there is some hope.
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