ITK reporter reckons Celtic appointment imminent

Speaking on Clyde1 Superscoreboard David Friel talked through the considerations, obstacles and the challenges with each individual contender on Celtic’s shortlist and believes that the man for the job can be identified or at least predicted by going through this process and he says who he thinks will end up as the new Celtic manager during this international break.

What we can add from our end is that having spoken to a senior Celtic figure yesterday there’ nothing imminent although that can change quickly or it could drag on and on. The lessons from the Eddie Howe chase in the early months of 2021 means that Celtic will want to get this done quickly and there’s unlikely to be much leeway for a candidate who wants to wait.

“I just think when they first came in, it was always seen as the natural break coming at this point. I think Martin O’Neill himself had—well, he was quite vague on it—but I believe Celtic initially looked at these four games up until the international break as the window for O’Neill and Shaun Maloney to come in, steady the ship, and then move on.

“I just feel Celtic are in a title fight, there’s a cup final coming up, and a massive January window ahead. They need a permanent manager. I don’t think it’ll be Martin O’Neill.

“I don’t think you can get Kjetil Knutsen out early either, because if you look at Bodo/Glimt’s Champions League schedule, it runs until the end of January. These are the teams they’ve still got to play—Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, and Atletico Madrid. Knutsen has built Bodo/Glimt from nothing, and I’d be amazed if he walked away before seeing that through. That would take you into late January, and I don’t think Celtic can wait that long. I could be wrong, but I just don’t see it being him.

“It’s pointing more towards others. The one who’s now seen as the front-runner is Wilfried Nancy, the Columbus Crew head coach. He’s a bit of a left-field candidate, but there are definite links with people at Celtic. Paul Tisdale used to work with Nancy’s assistant, Kwame Ampadu, at Exeter City.

“From the very start, Nancy’s name was mentioned and people were asking, ‘Where’s that come from?’ But he’s won the MLS Cup and the Leagues Cup with Columbus Crew, and he’s got a really strong reputation. I think it would be a major gamble, but if Celtic are going to go down the route of a foreign coach, it looks more likely to be Wilfried Nancy.”

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter was published in September 2025 by Celtic Star Books. David’s widow Rosemary has written a special message of thanks to the Celtic support and Danny McGrain has contributed his own piece to the book which is a great read. And Danny has gone further by signing all remaining copies of the book which is available now from our bookstore – celticstarbooks.com

Please note that as we celebrate the life and the Celtic writing of David Potter we are happy to include a free copy of David’s wonderful Willie Fernie biography that only could be titled ‘Putting on the Style’ a release that helped bring that old Celtic song back into the current songbook.