Eddie Howe has been promised two key components to the Celtic job that Neil Lennon was denied.
According to a report in The Sun the former Bournemouth boss will have a free hand to put together his own backroom team and a £2m/year salary.
Coming from Hibs Lennon wouldn’t have had a salary in that range, when he was given the job in 2019 it came with a ready-made coaching team of John Kennedy, Damien Duff and Stevie Woods.
Even after delivering a Treble when Duff left it was the club that appointed Gavin Strachan with Lennon’s attempts to bring in Tommy Johnson and/or Johan Mjalby knocked back by Peter Lawwell.
In The Sun, Derek McGregor claims:
Howe, 43, has been quietly planning his backroom staff, with current Bournemouth coaches Stephen Purches and Simon Weatherstone prominent in his thinking.
The identity of those who come in to improve the recruitment department is also vital to Howe’s plans to transform the club. He’s keen to have key assistants committed to joining him before official confirmation of his move north.
Desmond has promised him substantial transfer resources and full authority over his staff. It’s expected that Howe will have a £2million-a-year salary.
Winning next season’s SPFL title should be worth £30m plus with direct entry to the group stage of the Champions League, a package that incentivises towards UEFA’s biggest prize should take Howe up to the sort of salary that many managers in the EPL enjoy.
Whether Richard Hughes will come with Howe remains to be seen but it looks unlikely that one appointment could put the deal at risk.
The Sun reported of Howe’s face-to-face talks with Desmond and Dom McKay, hopefully the wait for confirmation of his appointment isn’t drawn out over another month.