Decision on Fran Alonso’s future at Celtic expected after Hearts match

Celtic FC Women visit the Oriam Performance Centre in Edinburgh on Sunday afternoon to take on Hearts in their final match of 2023 and it could also turn out to be the last game in charge for Fran Alonso, amid increasing speculation that the highly rated Spanish coach could be heading across the pond for his next challenge.

Fran Alonso pictured last weekend during the 7-0 win over Spartans.

This week a second club has entered the race to appoint Fran Alonso as their new head coach. A few days earlier, it was rumoured that Alonso was tempted by a move to Mexican team Monterrey amid budget concerns at Celtic. It is now being reported that NWSL side Houston Dash are keen on the Spaniard.

Coach Sam Laity left Houston Dash in September after a disappointing season that saw the American side finish 10th in a 12-team league. It was reported by The Equalizer at the start of the month that the process to appoint a new head coach was expected to be completed by 15 December, and that the club was looking for someone to bring an attacking possession-based style of play to the team.

Fran Alonso after his side retained the Scottish Cup at Hampden at the end of May beating theRangers 2-0 in the final

Alonso certainly seems to be a fit for that role, but as things stand, nothing has been confirmed and you would imagine that the match against Hearts will have to be the priority before any announcements are made.

Celtic operate with the third largest budget in the SWPL, with a significant financial gap between the top two funded sides theRangers and Glasgow City, who have substantial corporate backing. Celtic FC Women are essentially self-funding from its own commercial deals with Celtic underwriting any deficit should it arise.

It’s a cautious approach that has allowed theRangers to win one SWPL1 title and maybe this season another, as their summer business has seen them leapfrog Celtic into the most likely title winners at this stage of the season.

Scottish Cup glory for the Celtic FC Women ghirls at Hampden

However the nature of the SWPL1 league structure, with the split coming after two rounds of matches and the top six all having to play each other home and away post split, means that the January window is crucial for Celtic if our title chances are to improve.

Fran Alonso is always super positive in his assessments and interviews but he understands that he’s got a weaker hand this season in terms of squad strength than he’d have hoped for after delivering success for the club and looking like the emerging dominating force in the women’s game back in the spring.

Whatever happens, The Celtic Star will have all of the latest updates on this story so stay tuned.

Lucy Ashworth-Clifford in action against theRangers

In other Celtic FC Women news, it was great to see photos this week of Lucy Ashworth-Clifford back in training a year after suffering an ACL injury playing against theRangers Women at Cumbernauld.

Pictures posted by Celtic FC Women on social media featured the wing-back in all her glory. Hopefully we could see her feature sometime in the New Year, as before her injury, she was a stand-out performer in the side – winning the 2022/23 October SWPL Player of the Month award.

Lucy Ashworth-Clifford’s injury in the goalless draw against theRangers last December

Maybe LAC’s return can be the boost we need to help win our first ever Scottish Women’s Premier League title. Fran Alonso’s side will be looking to end the year strong against Hearts in the capital on Sunday. We’ll preview the game later today, although there’s no news of Celtic holding any media conferences ahead of the game on Sunday. That could tell its own story.

COYGIG