John Collins gave his assessment on where things stand at the moment in the apparent stand-off between Eddie Howe and the Celtic power-brokers as the former Bournemouth boss attempts, as Collins sees it, to do something unique in football and appoint his own boss!
And of Howe doesn’t reach an agreement sooner rather than later the former Assistant Manager at Celtic reckons that John Kennedy’s credentials could go throw the roof if he can produce a series of wins, retain the Scottish Cup and ensure that the Ibrox side do not finish this Covid affected season unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership.
“I think Eddie Howe is a terrific manager and I enjoyed watching his Bournemouth team,” the former Celtic midfielder and Assistant Manager said to BBC Sportsound. “He was a brave coach who never parked the bus and was an entertaining manager.
“He fits the bill for Celtic. But there has to be a timescale. Every supporter and the players are asking ‘when is this going to be concluded?’ Collins added. “Celtic want him, he knows he’s in demand so he knows he’s in a strong position. Him asking to bring in a director of football has put Celtic on the back foot.
“I can understand Eddie asking to bring all his staff. But what he’s asking with the director of football is to basically appoint his own boss. I’ve never heard of that in football before,” Collins admitted.
“So it depends on how important Celtic see that role. They had a director of football last season but for a number of years they haven’t.
“The big talk was they would appoint a director of football first and then bring the manager in. I also don’t think they would want to announce the new appointment leading up to the semi-final. That would take the mind of the coach and the players away from the game. All the spotlight would be on Eddie.
“Maybe they’ll get the weekend’s game out of the way and then announce it.”
Fergal Harkins, the Manchester City Pathways Manager, has been the long=term front runner for the Director of Football position – a role incidentally John Collins who love himself – but the Irishman has had to remain patient as the Howe stand-off has developed over the past few weeks. Collins can certainly see the attributes that the former Nike executive can bring to Celtic but worries about his lack of experience for a DoF job.
“Fergal’s role at City when Ronny and I were dealing with him was to look after the loan players,” Collins said. “He did a good job for Celtic when I was there. He was responsible for Jason Denayer, John Guidetti, Patrick Roberts and Dedryck Boyata all coming to the club. And all were successful at Celtic.
“He has a good relationship with Peter Lawwell and the Celtic board so he’s a possibility for his role. But he’s never been a director of football before.”
And amid mild rumbles favouring John Kennedy’s growing credentials for the job – which incidentally would increase substantially in volume should Kennedys team produce a resounding win on Sunday on the re-arranged 3pm kick-off at Ibrox – Collins reckons that the Interim Manager would be the most likely appointment should the Howe option fail to materialise.
“John has done a terrific job since taking over. The team are playing with more confidence, creating more chances and scoring more goals,” was his fair and reasonable assessment of the Interim Manager’s performance in the hottest seat in Scottish football, after taking over from Neil Lennon in February.
“Of course the pressure is off because the league is lost. But they’re playing good football. In the last (Glasgow Derby) game in the first 45 minutes I thought Celtic were outstanding and should have been a number of goals in front.
“John has got the players playing well and with confidence. It looks like Celtic have Eddie Howe as their number one choice. But if Eddie for some reason doesn’t happen and John wins the Scottish Cup and continues to do well in the last four league games – and maybe beats (the)Rangers again – then he’s got a good chance of getting the job.”
Clearly he knows the level of interference into the role at Celtic. He is trying to circumvent that. Im not so sure he would make the same demands of a club in the EPL. Where I imagine he would be afforded more control.
So many strands here. I feel that we are going to see movement on this story next week when McKay joins properly. You could argue that no leaks from the boardroom mean we know what we are doing but equally, that we are not in control of the outcome.
Hearing former Hoops coming out and saying they are just as baffled as us by Howe (supposedly) wanting to appoint his own boss shows how ludicrous that idea is. If that’s the stumbling block, wish Howe the best and move on swiftly. If it’s to do with him really speaking to Crystal Palace and Newcastle, wish him the best and move on swiftly. If it’s close to a done deal and just needs the cup out the way and McKay on board, then make an announcement by the end of next week, even if it’s just to say he’ll take over at season’s end. We’ll all be on board with that.
I would argue that once McKay is in, he appoints Harkin or whoever else as DoF. Then he turns round to Howe or any other candidate with no uncertainty around who runs the club and who appoints key positions. As for Harkin, he’s working at arguably one of the best club sides in the world and has done for years, so the step up to DoF won’t be outside of his skillset.
So by next week, we’ll have a new CEO and fingers crossed by the end of the week, a new DoF. After that, either Howe or we speak to other candidates. I would wish Howe the best if he takes over and he’ll never have support like it but if he picks mediocrity with Newcastle, being gubbed every week from the top half of the league, then it’s just down to money and not ambition. Hard to not react to the daily stories, roll on McKay coming in to steady things