Who is the right man to lead Celtic next season?

As soon as the axe fell on Tony Mowbray as boss of Celtic there was huge speculation over who would succeed the former-West Brom boss. The job is huge and the list of likely candidates is growing by the day.

Wrong

Celtic’s appointment of Tony Mowbray last summer was the wrong one in the first place. I was wondering quite how a manager with such a poor record in English football could get the top job at Parkhead but somehow he did.

Mowbray must have been appointed because of his alleged philosophy of preferring his team to play football. However his reign at Parkhead was a nightmare. He signed cheap replacements for former Celtic stalwarts and most of his signings failed to perform. Even the fact that he was an ex-Celtic star didn’t help his cause.

Under Mowbray Celtic went gone backwards and they now need a fresh approach. Like I alluded to before lots of managers have been linked with the job and here I will profile the candidates.

Neil Lennon

He is the current caretaker manager and isn’t doing a bad job thus far. He has had a long association with the Hoops and worked as a coach at the club before being put in temporarily charge. He has a big passion for the club, having spent the last 10 years with the Hoops. Lennon is now current joint favourite to get the job permanently. However his inexperience may go against him.

Mark Hughes

Hughes is also one of the favourites for the job. He is probably the highest profile candidate for the job at the moment and many Celtic fans first choice for the position. His managerial career has been solid rather than spectacular but it was good enough to win him a big move to Manchester City.

Some at Eastlands still believe that the Welsh boss was unfairly dismissed. He is still highly rated in football circles and the Celtic job could be his perfect return to football for him. The club are massive and it could be the ideal prospect for the talented boss.

Paul Lambert

The former-Celtic captain has done a fantastic job at League One club Norwich City and has guided the Canaries to the brink of promotion back to the Championship. He is also a highly-rated young coach and is expected to make it to the top of the footballing tree.

Lambert is a big fans favourite at Parkhead and I’m sure he would be welcomed back with open arms. Celtic fans love an ex-star and he would be a popular choice.

Henrik Larsson

Swedish ace Henrik Larsson is a Celtic legend. He is currently managing in the Swedish second division. However he has been linked with a shock return as manager this summer. His managerial experience consists of just a few months and this lack of experience will probably rule him out of an emotional return to Parkhead this summer.

He is certainly behind the above three in the race for the job. I’m sure just like Lambert he would be a popular appointment among the fans. I can see him returning to Celtic at some point in the future.

Roy Keane

He seems like a popular choice amongst the Celtic fans. He is of course an ex-Celtic player. Although he only enjoyed a brief spell at Parkhead and it was quite a stormy stay. His managerial record in England isn’t great with either Sunderland or Ipswich Town. His appointment would be a poor one in my opinion.

Other candidates

Lots of other names have been linked with the job but all are probably outsiders for the position. Alan Curbishley, Nigel Pearson and Slaven Bilic are all good candidates but are all unlikely to arrive at Parkhead this summer.

Vital

The next choice of manager could prove vital in the progression of Celtic Football Club. They are currently miles away from their bitter rivals Rangers. I’m sure the Celtic fans can’t wait for this season to end with the club trailing their rivals by so many points.

With Scottish football in poor financial shape in general the club aren’t going to have a massive amount of money to spend this summer. The manager that does get the job will have a major job on his hands but there are very few clubs as unique as Celtic in world football and the position is a superb opportunity for the right boss.

I would like to you know who are readers think would be a good choice for next Celtic boss?