The question on every Celtic supporter's mind; who will be the club's manager at the start of next season? After both Brendan Rodgers' shock resignation and then Wilfried Nancy's infamously terrible 33 stint, Martin O'Neill stepped in and did an excellent job. The Hoops won all nine matches they played in April and May, thereby snatching the Premiership title on the final day, before swatting aside Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden.
Thus, it is possible that O'Neill will remain in the role next season, but this surely is not a good idea. The Northern Irishman is 74 years old, so would not be a long-term appointment, rather the board simply taking the easy option. Even before his surprise double return last season, O'Neill was already the most beloved Celtic manager in modern history, having now won nine major honours with the club, as well as leading them to the UEFA Cup final of 2003. However, at this stage of his career, his motivational style surely works as an interim, but perhaps not over an entire campaign.
However, he is not the only man in the frame. As reported by Sky Sports, alongside O'Neill, majority shareholder Dermot Desmond is also set to meet Robbie Keane this week over the managerial vacancy. They note that Wales and Portugal managers Craig Bellamy and Roberto MartÃnez are also on their shortlist, but that Desmond is a "huge admirer" of Keane. So, should he be first-choice?
Well, during his career, Keane played for 11 different clubs, one of which is Celtic. During a six month loan spell in Glasgow, he scored 16 goals in 19 appearances for the Hoops, but Neil Lennon's side finished second and were beaten by Ross County in the Scottish Cup semis at Hampden in 2010.
Keane retired in 2018 while playing for Atlético de Kolkata in India, overseeing three matches as their interim manager. After that, he was an assistant coach with the Republic of Ireland, Middlesbrough and then very briefly Leeds United, working under Mick McCarthy, Jonathan Woodgate and Sam Allardyce.
His first head coach position was with Maccabi Tel Aviv, winning the Israeli Premier League title and guiding the Yellows to the Conference League round of 16. He was then appointed Ferencváros manager in January 2025, leading the Greens to a seventh successive Nemzeti Bajnokság title. This season, their streak did come to an end, finishing a point behind champions Győri, albeit Keane did get his hands on the Magyar Kupa, his team beating Zalaegerszegi 1-0 at the Puskás Aréna.
Nevertheless, missing out on Champions League qualification, ousted by QarabaÄŸ in the play-off round, as well as failing to win the title for the first time since 2017/18 is something of a failure. That though is not the main reason why Celtic are against his appointment. Shortly after his arrival in Tel Aviv, the 7 October attacks led to a serious escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Keane was widely criticised for remaining in his post until the end of the season, saying "I had five staff, I had a lot of foreign players who relied on me as their coach". Obviously, Celtic's support are largely pro-Palestine, so Keane's potential appointment would not go down well, to say the least, and his limited managerial CV suggests this would not be worth the hassle.
If supporters were hoping that Celtic's hierarchy were going to make an ambitious appointment, Kjetil Knutsen for example, they're likely to be let down once again. Interesting times could be ahead.
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