Should Celtic re-appoint Ange Postecoglou to replace Brendan Rodgers?
Well, the Australian did enjoy great success during his two seasons in Glasgow, winning five trophies, meaning he may remain the club’s most universally popular manager of the modern era.
However, following an ill-fated 39 days stint in charge of Nottingham Forest, reports suggest that Postecoglou is not looking to jump straight back into management, while his record at Tottenham and the City Ground, Europa League triumph aside, would be causes for concern, suggesting he may not be the dream candidate some supporters believe him to be.
Instead, should they target “one of the best coaches” around in a move reminiscent of what occurred in the year 2000?
Martin O'Neill's Celtic career
On Monday evening, when news of Rodgers’ resignation was announced, Celtic also confirmed that Martin O’Neill would be placed in interim charge, working alongside Shaun Maloney.
This is the 73 year old’s first managerial position since an Ange-esque 19 game stint at Nottingham Forest in 2019 and, having been in charge of the Republic of Ireland for five years before that, he hasn’t truly been a club manager since leaving Sunderland in 2013.
He did make a winning start to life back in the dugout, overseeing a 4-0 demolition of Falkirk in the Premiership on Wednesday night, with Johnny Kenny bagging a brace, while Benjamin Nygren and Sebastian Tounekti were also on target.
Sunday’s League Cup semi-final against fierce rivals Rangers at Hampden should be a significantly tougher assignment, but O’Neill certainly has pedigree when it comes to winning Old Firm games.
The Irishman began his managerial career in the ’90s with very impressive stints in charge of Wycombe Wanderers and Leicester City, gaining promotion in charge of both, before winning two League Cups with the Foxes.
This earned him the Celtic job in 2000, viewed very much as a left-field choice at the time, but this proved to be a masterstroke.
Prior to his arrival, Rangers had won 11 of the last 12 Scottish titles, but O’Neill won the league in three of his first four seasons as well as leading Celtic to the UEFA Cup Final in 2003, ultimately defeated by José Mourinho’s Porto at the Cartuja in Seville.
Not since Jock Stein has a Celtic manager been so successful in Europe, with O’Neill also winning 13 of his 24 Old Firm games, while he also boasts the best win percentage of any permanent Hoops boss in history, before even including Wednesday’s win.
Martin O’Neill
283
75.6%
Ange Postecoglou
113
73.5%
Neil Lennon
335
70.7%
Jock Stein
761
69.6%
Brendan Rodgers
292
68.8%
Gordon Strachen
195
64.6%
Willie Maley
1,617
64.4%
Ronny Deila
118
63.6%
Billy McNeill
455
60%
David Hay
209
56.9%
Tommy Burns
140
55.7%
Liam Brady
126
54%
Jimmy McGrory
843
49.7%
Note: minimum 100 matches in charge.
O’Neill will be hoping to improve that win ratio further, for however long he remains in the dugout, although that won’t be easy, with games against Rangers and then Midtjylland in Herning next on the agenda.
So, should Celtic appoint someone who is reminiscent of when O’Neill first arrived a quarter of a century ago?
Celtic could appoint 'one of the best coaches' in England
Of all the people reportedly in contention to become Celtic manager, Nicky Hayen, Craig Bellamy, Robbie Keane, Kjetil Knutsen and others, would Kieran McKenna represent the biggest coup?
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Sky Sports has reported that the Ipswich Town boss is a name whom the Celtic hierarchy are ‘very keen on’, although it remains to be seen if he would leave mid-season – while a reported £5m get-out clause could also prove prohibitive.
Just 39 years old, the Northern Irishman has been in coaching since 2009, employed by Tottenham and Manchester United as a youth coach and scout, before working alongside José Mourinho and then Ole Gunnar Solskjær as an assistant at Old Trafford.
Solskjær spoke glowingly about McKenna, describing him as “the most thorough and analytical… process-driven coach that I’ve worked with”, while fellow ex-Man United great Nicky Butt agrees, labelling him “one of the best coaches I’ve ever seen on the grass”.
His reputation earned him his first head coach role at Ipswich, enjoying unparalleled success in Suffolk, guiding the Tractor Boys to back-to-back promotions, leading them back into the Premier League for the first time since 2002, even if they were relegated straight away.
A mixed start to this EFL Championship campaign has the Blues 12th, but there is still firm belief that, with McKenna in charge, the East Anglian-based outfit will be promotion contenders.
In fact, despite taking a battering pretty much every week in the Premier League last season, only Mick O’Brien in the ’30s and Sir Alf Ramsey have a better win percentage of any Ipswich boss in history.
As outlined by the Coaches Voice, McKenna favours a ‘short-passing style’ with width provided by attacking full-backs, allowing wingers to drift inside, concluding that this approach should take him ‘ to the top of the game as a coach’, something that would suit how Celtic have played in the past and their current squad.
Also, as documents, McKenna’s history working with youth teams means he is more than willing to bring through younger players, helping Omari Hutchinson and others realise their true potential at Portman Road.
So, while his lack of experience, and poor Premier League record, with an admittedly weak squad, are causes for concern, the Celtic board must be bold, rather than churning through the same three of four faces.
If Neil Lennon wasn’t currently Dunfermline Athletic manager, he’d almost certainly be in the dugout; the Pars face Scott Brown’s Ayr United on Friday, winner gets the Celtic job anyone?
On a serious note, when O’Neill arrived in 2000, this was off the back of work with Wycombe and Leicester largely in the EFL, so who is to say McKenna could not do something similar, as he would certainly bring a freshness and new ideas to a club going a bit stale.
