Celtic continue to search for a permanent manager. A lot has changed about it over the past week though. When Brendan Rodgers resigned, the Hoops were left in a desperate situation. Their season had already started to unravel and the Northern Irishman's exit had the potential to completely derail it. Instead, it seems to have had the opposite effect.
Martin O'Neill and Shaun Maloney were put in interim charge straight after Rodgers' exit. Celtic won 4-0 against Falkirk a couple of days later, and followed that up with a 3-1 win over the Rangers at Hampden Park to book their place in the Scottish League Cup final.
Now, we understand that the sample size is way too small. We cannot make any judgments based on two games. That being said, there are already plenty of calls for O'Neill to be handed the job until the end of the season.
That is not set in stone though. And it looks like there are a couple of preferred candidates if O'Neill does not remain for the remainder of the campaign.
Mark Guidi names the two preferred candidates for Celtic job
As reported by 67 Hail Hail, Mark Guidi said on The Go Radio Football Show:
"I do think that the two preferred candidates outwith what Martin does is [Kjetil] Knutsen of Bodo/Glimt and Kieran McKenna of which they are the two clear front runners for the job.
“I think Kieran McKenna wants the Celtic job and Knutsen has said recently that he’s now ready to go and try something different and their season finishes next month.
“So if it’s not going to be Martin O’Neill, the new manager of Celtic will be Knutsen or McKenna. But Martin O’Neill is in the driving seat and it’s brilliant. It’s been a great appointment.
“He’s got them going and I have to say I’m absolutely delighted for Martin O’Neill. He’s 73 years of age. To take that on, you know, it required a lot."
Well, there is a lot of positivity around O'Neill at the moment. That being said, one has to be wary that it could change very quickly if the results dip. Celtic's next game is in the Europa League against FC Midtjylland. Let's hope the boss can make it three on the trot.
As for the other two candidates, both have the potential to be great picks. Out of them, we would prefer Kjetil Knutsen though. The job that he has done with Bodo/Glimt is nothing short of remarkable.
He has won four league titles with them and is in contention for a fifth one this season. It is worth pointing out that they had never won one before Knutsen. In Europe, he took them to the Europa League semis last season, the first Norwegian side to get that far. And this time around, they are playing Champions League football.
Of course, this does not mean that Kieran McKenna has not done some remarkable things himself. He earned back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town and is a brilliant manager in his own right.