Keith Jackson has claimed that Eddie Howe will be appointed as Celtic manager this week but an announcement isn’t expected on Monday.
It is now over three months since Neil Lennon resigned but since he held talks with Dermot Desmond and Dom McKay at the start of April the former Bournemouth boss appears to be the only contender for the job.
Various suggested announcements have come and gone but with Bournemouth no longer involved in the EPLS Play Offs it seems like the final hurdles have been cleared.
Late on Sunday, Jackson explained in the Daily Record:
Celtic’s long wait to appoint a new manager is set to end this week as Eddie Howe finally prepares to put pen to paper on a Parkhead deal.
Record Sport understands club bosses hope to begin the big rebuild in the coming days with top target Howe the headline appointment – almost two months after the Englishman’s first meeting with billionaire shareholder Dermot Desmond and incoming chief executive Dominic McKay in London.
McKay may also unveil a new director of football as part of a major restructuring in the wake of a catastrophic campaign which saw former boss Neil Lennon shown the door in February after a miserable run of results wrecked his hopes of securing a 10th successive title.
While well placed sources have told Record Sport an official announcement will not be expected on Monday, it’s believed McKay hopes to have Celtic ’s ducks in a row before the end of this week.
In 2020 Jackson was the only newspaper reporter granted an interview with Peter Lawwell, during which plans to host a Test Event at Celtic Park in July were outlined. Not one fan attended a match at Celtic Park during the whole season.
Whenever he is appointed, Howe will have to hit the ground running with a major rebuild of the squad required. Four loan players have returned to their parent clubs, Scott Brown is bound for Aberdeen with Leigh Griffiths about to go out of contract.
Celtic’s first competitive match of next season will be on July 19/20 but six players have been named in the Scotland squad for the European Championships.
