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The Celtic Job – Martinez alongside Maloney would work

Originally posted on The Celtic Star | Last updated Feb 11, 2026 6:18 AM ET

Roberto Martinez would be a blockbuster appointment, but he should be one of a several top quality managers on Celtic’s summer shortlist…

Several names have already been mentioned in regard to who will be the next manager of Celtic,, but one name who keeps circulating is that of Roberto Martinez. Now there are reports that he will be standing aside from the Portuguese national side after the World Cup, and that has understandably intensified the speculation that Martinez’s next employer will be Celtic Football Club.

No matter your opinion on Martinez as a coach, you can’t deny his pedigree in the game. The Spaniard who once played for Motherwell has stacks of experience, managing the likes of Wigan, Everton, The Belgian national side, and of course the all star Portuguese side.

Critics will argue that Martinez, who led Wigan to FA Cup glory, has been absent from club football for a considerable amount of time, but in that time he’s been competing at the highest level of international football, handling some of the greatest players in the game such as Kevin De Bruyne, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Bruno Fernandes among others.

World Cup, European Championship, top level EPL experience, the Spaniard has it all in his locker, and if we managed to persuade him to make Glasgow his next port of call, then it would be an appointment of the Blockbuster variety.

Celtic should be casting our net far and wide

However, as box office as Martinez is, Celtic should be casting our net far and wide in the hunt for a new man, and the Spaniard should be one of a few on a shortlist of candidates drawn up.

Names such as Kjetil Knutsen, Marco Rose, and even Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou as an outside bet, should be names on our radar. All are worthy of consideration.

Celtic is set for a real period of transition in the summer. A new Chairman is required after Peter Lawwell stepped down at the end of 2025 with Brian Wilson currently holding the fort in an interim basis.

Nicholson likely to leave his CEO role this summer

Michael Nicholson too is likely to leave his role as the Celtic CEO this summer and a proper recruitment process is needed rather than the promote from within the tent mantra that has proved so costly for Celtic in recent times.

The squad will require a major overhaul with the likes of Kasper Schmeichel and James Forrest coming to the end of their contracts and numerous players such as Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Yang, Paulo Bernardo and Arne Engels all likely to be leaving and there will be others too.

Celtic also has a handful of loan stars at the club at the moment and decisions need to be reached on them plus there are just as many players out on loan, mostly arising from the summer 2023 transfer window under the stewardship of Peter Lawwell’s son, Mark Lawwell. That’s another example of promoting from within the tent that Celtic simply must shed.

Roberto Martinez would be an ambitious appointment

If we have any ambition at all, and want to progress as a club, we need to be targeting the very best and realistic targets on the market, and Roberto Martinez although to some, might seem out of reach, is definitely a name we are capable of attracting to Glasgow.

With Shaun Maloney already impressing working alongside Martin O’Neill and having plenty of experience working with Martinez in the game, especially at the Belgium national team, it would make perfect sense to recruit Martinez to work as manager with Shaun Maloney as his assistant.

A process more stringent than the one that produced Wilfried Nancy

But we must remember that Martinez is not the only candidate Celtic must consider, and we should be aiming high and wide in the search for the right man with a process much more stringent than the one that produced Wilfried Nancy as the outstanding candidate to replace an elite manager like Brendan Rodgers.

This article first appeared on The Celtic Star and was syndicated with permission.

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