Celtic announce appointment of former player in new role

Celtic have made several changes and additions when it comes to the club's structure in recent years, as they aim to keep up with the modern game. We saw a lot of them being put in place during Ange Postecoglou's two-year stint as the club's manager and it has continued under the management of Brendan Rodgers as well.

It is good to see that the club are willing to keep changing things up and change with the times. And they have now handed a new role to Darren O'Dea.

As reported by the club's official website, O’Dea has been appointed to the position of Professional Player Pathway Manager. The aim is to develop the progression of players at the club.

He will be reporting to the Head of Celtic’s Youth Academy, and O'Dea will work with Rodgers, the Head of Academy Coaching and the club’s B Team and Academy Coaches, in order to ensure the effective development of players to play for the Hoops. The role will also manage loan opportunities which support development opportunities.

Celtic announce appointment of former player in new role

Celtic have not had a lot of joy in recent years when it comes to developing players into first-team regulars. The last to make that jump was Kieran Tierney. Mikey Johnston is showing a ton of quality lately as well but away on loan in the English Championship.

As for O'Dea, he himself was part of the Celtic youth ranks and broke into the senior game at Parkhead. He would eventually leave the club in 2012 and went on to have a bit of a journeyman career in the game while representing the Republic of Ireland national team on 20 occasions.

He has been the Celtic B Team head coach since 2022. It is clear that the club have been impressed with his work, given that they have handed him another role.