Continuity is key. Celtic have built themselves into a brilliant position and there is no reason to go pulling it apart.
What is needed for the manager’s job is not someone to come in and basically start again as Ange Postecoglou had to do. They need someone to continue his good work. Someone who has the same philosophies and ideals, plays the same way and can deal with a mixture of cultures. Celtic went to the City Football Group to get Postecoglou. People scoffed about it. Scoffed about his appointment and they were wrong.
So, for my money, it would make a lot of sense to go down the same route. CFG are a footballing power in their own right. Postecoglou went into Celtic and adopted the style of football used by Pep Guardiola with the inverted full-backs, the high press and the fast-paced approach. With that in mind, I can see a lot of reasons why Enzo Maresca would appeal as a viable candidate. He is, after all, Guardiola’s assistant.
Now let’s get the cards on the table right away. I don’t know the guy at all. I’ve no idea whether he could handle the environment in Glasgow, or whether he’s cut out to be a manager in his own right having not done so well in his last attempt at Parma.
But the fact Guardiola got him back into the fold to be his assistant after the job in Italy didn’t work out for him suggests he rates him. And let’s face it, if Pep phones you up and says he’s got a guy who’s pretty damn good at coaching players, you are going to listen.
I read somewhere that Guardiola said he is going to make an extraordinary manager in his own right like Mikel Arteta. Guardiola got it right with him. He went from being his assistant to making his major mark at Arsenal. No one came closer to taking the Premier League title off this season and that says a lot given the state of the Gunners when he took charge.
I’m not standing here saying appoint Maresca. What I am saying is that continuity is important and finding someone who can slot into the system and into the squad of players and their playing style is maybe just all Celtic need at the moment. He might be that.
Of course, there are other excellent candidates. Graham Potter has to be under consideration. He had a tough time of it at Chelsea, but that was not an easy situation to go into.
Looking back beyond the period at Stamford Bridge and his work with Brighton would mirror in some respects the job Eddie Howe had done just along the south coast at Bournemouth. Better, in fact. It was clear Celtic were attracted to that given the fact they wanted the Newcastle manager before being rejected and they went down the Postecoglou road.
Kjetil Knutsen of Bodo/Glimt is, of course, well known to the Celtic fans given the way his team hammered Postecoglou’s outfit in the knockout stages of the Conference League a couple of seasons ago. Now doubt the Norwegian did a spectacular job with that team, but they didn’t win the last title after he lost players.
Two men I would be ruling out of running immediately are Brendan Rodgers and John Kennedy. Rodgers is just simply not an option, surely.
Brendan was a brilliant Celtic manager, but the way he left was just too much for some fans to stomach and I sense it may create a difficult environment between stands and technical area if he were to come back. I might be wrong, but I can’t see it.
Kennedy was another I considered, but I’m not sure that is the route Celtic will go down. He has done the job before, mind you. And he certainly knows every single detail about the cub because he’s worked there, successfully, for so long.
One thing I will say about this whole situation is the stuff about a big-name really hacks me off. What the hell is a big name and why does it matter?
Spurs fans were miffed when Mauricio Pochettino got the job and said he was an underwhelming appointment. Next time he was a hero having taken them close to a title and a Champions League Final. Those same agitators were falling over themselves when Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte got the job and ended up bored rigid with their football.
Be honest, not many folk who aren’t students of the European game had heard of Roberto De Zerbi when he walked into Brighton and now people have him down as the game’s next gift. Quite right, he’s doing a brilliant job.
The name is irrelevant, it’s what he can bring to the table that matters. We could see from day one that Postecoglou had the tools to deliver. He had the coaching credentials and managerial nous in the bag as well. It was just that some people didn’t look hard enough to find it.
That’s important and where a Potter, for example, would have far more clout than say a Maresca and be better suited. Postecoglou did a superb job and he’s big boots to fill. It’s a huge honour to manage Celtic, but also a big challenge.
You’ll need courage to take it because fans want the next step and that is progress in the Champions League as well as continuing to dominate Rangers. I just feel Celtic has the squad in place. Some will leave, but the nucleus is there and the playing style is proven. Ripping it up is not necessary.
It’s finding the individual who can slot seamlessly into what’s already there which is necessary.
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