Money is a huge motivating factor for a lot of players and coaches in the modern game, so it has to be expected that Celtic won’t always be the first choice if it purely comes down to finances.
It does mean that Celtic sometimes have to play the waiting game when it comes to transfers, but that can come back to bite you if you hold out for too long.
We saw it last summer as the attempts to bring Fraser Forster back from Southampton went on far too long, and it’s resulted in the club having three goalkeepers who nobody really trusts to start every game.
A report from The Glasgow Times has looked at some recent comments from former Celtic defender Mark Wilson, and he makes a fair point when he says they can’t fall into the same trap when it comes to finding a new manager.
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He was specifically talking to The Celtic Huddle Podcast about Eddie Howe and his situation, and it’s clear that he wants to see a quick decision one way or the other:
“Shouldn’t Celtic just be stronger and move on? Have we not learned from the past of Celtic hanging about for people?
“Of course, Fraser Foster was on that was well documented, Celtic wanted to sign him and it kept getting put back and held off and before you knew you have left yourself in trouble.
“Surely, Celtic have to say to Eddie Howe do you want the job, yes or no? if no, let’s move on.”
There is a fair argument to be made that the season is still ongoing so there’s not an immediate hurry to appoint a manager just now, but some serious planning does need to happen ahead of next season.
John Kennedy was appointed as a caretaker so it’s not disrespectful to him because he can’t be expecting to take the job full-time, so it would be useful to get something sorted out soon.
It gives the new manager time to evaluate the current squad from a distance, draw up transfer plans and they can also get their coaching staff and entire setup in place ahead of taking over, so the last thing the club needs is to see this drag on into the summer.
The fear will be that time will be lost and potential targets will move on before Celtic can get their house in order, so hopefully lessons have been learned.
We need a manager in ASAP, if we wait till season finishes then we go into qualifiers with a manager who won’t know what the players can do.