Celtic’s pursuit of Ange Postecoglou was triggered by an outsider according to Sky Sports.
Despite almost 20 years in the sharp end of football Peter Lawwell appears to have turned to the guy in charge of Manchester City’s network of loan players for help in recruiting a successor to Neil Lennon.
Similarly Dermot Desmond is credited with the key role in appointing Martin O’Neill and Brendan Rodgers but the club’s biggest individual shareholder seems to have abdicated responsibility with a 55-year-old Australian appearing to be the front runner with Eddie Howe opting out.
Lawwell and Desmond are uniquely qualified to understand the demands of managing Celtic but according to Sky Sports Fergal Harkin is the driving force behind the move for Postecoglou:
Postecoglou, who is currently in charge of Japanese club Yokohama F. Marinos, spent most of his playing and managerial career in Australia – and managed the national side between 2013 and 2017, where he won the Asian Cup in 2015.
The 55-year-old has been recommended to Celtic by Fergal Harkin, who is expected to be named as the club’s sporting director this summer when he leaves his role as Manchester City’s football partnerships manager.
Being ‘expected to be named’ is a dangerous path to go down, a week ago Eddie Howe was expected to be named as Celtic manager but that didn’t end well.
Where Harkin fits in is anyone’s guess. Plotting the career path of Daniel Arzani between Melbourne City, Celtic, Utrecht and AGF Aarhus is a completely different skill set to recruiting Celtic’s next manager.
Should Ange Postecoglou be offered the Celtic job?
Yes, we have to trust the club, they know their job
No, the club has lost the plot, demonstrated by this and Lennon
With Lawwell a month away from leaving the club handing the CEO baton onto Dom McKay Celtic appear to be a club in complete disarray.
After less than two years as Head of Football Operations Nick Hammond recently departed the club, adding to the vacuum of control.
Bringing in an experienced manager that requires minimal settling in time seems like a far more sensible option than adding to the chaos through chasing a notice to European football with questions to answer over a work permit, UEFA Pro Coaching Licence during a global pandemic.