Celtic manager race: 42-year-old emerges as ‘dark horse’ to replace Brendan Rodgers
Celtic have been backed to consider a new managerial option to replace Brendan Rodgers at Parkhead.
Rodgers quit his role as Celtic boss on Monday (27 October) evening, with the Hoops eight points adrift of Hearts in the Scottish Premiership.
Earlier this season, the Northern Irishman had publicly criticised the Celtic board for a lack of activity in the summer transfer window, hinting at disagreements behind the scenes.
Following his departure, Rodgers was slammed by club owner Dermot Desmond in an explosive public statement, confirming the unrest between the pair.
Celtic could consider promoting interim coach
On Tuesday (28 October), Celtic announced that Martin O’Neill had been appointed as interim manager, with Shaun Maloney coming in as his assistant.
Aberdeen’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Pittodrie between 2000 and 2004, had lengthy spells as the chief of Everton and Aston Villa and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Maloney, 42, is emerging as a dark horse in the race for the permanent managerial role.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that the former Scotland international did reasonably well while in charge of Wigan and has some valuable experience.
Wyness added that if Maloney can impress during his interim spell and get a good backroom team together, then he is in with a shout of the full-time position at Celtic.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “I know Shaun Maloney is coming in as assistant interim, but I think Shaun may be in with a shout of the full-time manager’s job if he can impress in this interim period.
“If he could put together a potential backroom team, I think Shaun may be a bit of a dark horse in the race. If they were to stick with this interim team until the end of the season with Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney, that would give them both a big chance to try and cement things.
“I don’t think Martin wants it long term, but Shaun is younger and still has designs on management. He did reasonably well at Wigan; he kept them up for a while. He’s had some battles and has got some experience.
“If he put together the right team, there could be a possibility, but it’s very early days yet. We’ve got to see how long this interim situation is.
“They’ve got a game against Falkirk, then it’s Rangers, not exactly what they’d have wanted straight away. It’s interesting times with the Old Firm and it’s great to see them actually having to grapple with the reality of football rather than coasting through things.
“So maybe we’ll see some real material changes in both Rangers and Celtic and the way they approach the league, the way they approach football in general, and I think it’s long overdue.”
Brendan Rodgers eyes Premier League return
Meanwhile, Rodgers is keen to return to the Premier League after quitting Celtic, sources have told Football Insider.
Sources say that the Northern Irishman believes his track record in the Premier League, at Liverpool and Leicester City, makes him an attractive proposition for English sides.
There would also be no compensation fee to hire Rodgers after his dramatic resignation, and his camp believe that could be key for clubs scouring the market for a proven top-flight manager.
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