Roberto Martinez in sudden contention to be next Celtic manager in surprise Thursday twist
Roberto Martinez has risen into contention to become the next permanent Celtic manager.
The Bhoys have welcomed Martin O’Neill back into his previous role as interim boss, after they finally decided to part company with Wilfried Nancy on Monday.
O’Neill has stepped back into the Celtic dugout alongside Shaun Maloney, but he has insisted that he has no intention of staying beyond the end of the current campaign.
The Bhoys now find themselves in the thick of a three-horse race for the Premiership title, and speculation is continuing to swirl as to who could be set to lead them forward in the long term.
Roberto Martinez sees odds slashed to be next permanent Celtic boss
O’Neill is keen to strengthen the Celtic squad in January as he bids to give the team the best possible chance of lifting the league title at the end of the season.
The 73-year-old laid the perfect foundations for Nancy earlier in the campaign, as he won seven out of his eight games in charge in all competitions before stepping aside.
The Frenchman ultimately squandered the opportunity that was presented to him, but the emphasis will be on O’Neill once again to steady the ship before a permanent chief is sourced next summer.
Who that will be remains to be confirmed, but it now looks increasingly likely that it could be Martinez after a huge twist on Thursday.
The current Portugal boss has seen his odds to be the next permanent Celtic manager slashed from 25/1 down to 2/1, a truly astonishing shift in such a short space of time.
The Spaniard has raced up in the running of one major bookmaker, and he is now second only to O’Neill to be the next permanent manager of the Glasgow giants.
Maloney and former boss Ange Postecoglou are next in the running.
Jens Berthel Askou an outsider for manager’s job at Parkhead
Jens Berthel Askou has also emerged as a Celtic contender in the background of the Martinez twist, as he is next in the running at odds of 12/1.
The Motherwell chief is enjoying an excellent campaign at the moment, as he has his team in outside contention to potentially gatecrash the title race.
The Dane only joined the Bhoys’ fellow Premiership outfit in the summer, but he has already made a transformative impact on their fortunes.
Berthel Askou’s impressive start to life in Scottish football could yet see him handed the reins at Celtic next term, in what would be a familiar face for the fans.
Celtic supporters have already seen his team triumph over theirs in recent weeks, but next year, it could be him who they are cheering on.