Celtic may soon be forced into the manager market after Martin O’Neill cast doubt over his future following Sunday’s derby defeat to Rangers. Ryan Naderi’s goal in the first half delivered the bragging rights to the blue half of Glasgow, less than two weeks after their victory in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals at Ibrox.
After the final whistle on Sunday, O’Neill admitted that he was considering his future in the Parkhead dugout. He said: “It’s a matter of whether I can help the team. If that’s the case. The manager’s supposed to be able to do that. And, yeah, I will have a look at that there this week. That every single time that something crops up, things don’t go so well, age plays a part. And you know what? They may well be right, you know?”
Five managers Celtic could appoint if O’Neill steps down.
Thomas Frank
The former Brentford and Tottenham boss would probably be the dream candidate for the Hoops. While it didn’t work out for him at Spurs, he is still widely regarded as a top manager thanks to his impressive spell in charge of Brentford.
As such, he would be quite the coup for Celtic if they can convince him to venture north of the border for his next career move.
Robbie Keane
The former Ireland striker has been linked with the Celtic job before, most notably when Wilfried Nancy was sacked earlier this year.
He didn’t make the move on that occasion, but the time could now be right for the man who led Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ferencvaros to domestic titles in Israel and Hungary respectively.
Kieran McKenna
Convincing the former Ipswich boss to move to Celtic might be slightly optimistic, especially because he is currently on hiatus.
His signature would also come at a significant cost, with the Tractor Boys still due around £8million in compensation if McKenna takes another job before the end of the season.
Shaun Maloney
Maloney has long been tipped as a future Celtic manager and knows the club well, both from his playing days and from being part of O’Neill’s coaching team.
He may feel that he is ready to make the step up to the top job, but it remains to be seen if the Hoops would want to move away from their existing set-up and go down an entirely different route.
Roy Keane
Keane was spotted watching the Rangers game on Sunday, fuelling speculation that he could be eyeing the manager’s job if O’Neill vacates his role.
However, the Sky Sports pundit hasn’t managed a team since a dreadful spell in charge of Ipswich over a decade ago. A club like Celtic should steer well clear.
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