Ray Houghton reckons that the past will catch up with Thierry Henry if the Frenchman is hoping to get the Celtic job. The former Ireland international is a huge Celtic fan and reckons that the supporters over in Ireland would not accept the Frenchman as the next Celtic manager after his deliberate handball denied Ireland a place at the World Cup 12 years ago.
Ireland missed out on a trip to South Africa due to Henry’s double handball and the Irish support have never forgiven him for his deliberate cheating. And with the Association of Irish Celtic Supporters Clubs (AICSC) and their members together with tens of thousands of other frequent visitors from Ireland to Celtic Park on matchday, it would be like a kick in the teeth to these fans if Celtic opted for the cheating Frenchman, according to the Glasgow born former Irish International.
“Celtic obviously have a huge Irish fanbase and they are still bitter over what Thierry Henry did because you don’t get any bigger than playing in the World Cup,” Houghton said, as reported by Daily Record. “And it’s hard to take when you’re cheated out of it with a handball as opposed to being beaten by the better team over the two legs so that’s why the supporters have always been very unhappy and the players as you get few chances to get to World Cups.
“Only the owners can say whether they would take what happened previously with Ireland into consideration and if that’s justification for him not to get the job. Owners of football clubs have to make the right choice for them and believe the person they’re bringing in is the one who can make a change,” Houghton reasoned.
“But it’s a bit like bringing in a player. You can do all the homework you can, see what they’re like as individuals and speak to people who know them but you won’t know until they’re in the job and doing it.
“Thierry has gone for other jobs – he was in for the Bournemouth job and that didn’t work out – and he is someone who obviously had a great career as a player but I wouldn’t know about his strengths and weaknesses as a manager.
“He’s obviously trying to get back into the game and we wish him every success and it’s up to the Celtic board to make the decision and they’ll do it based on the best man for the job.
“As for Ireland and their fans – they’ve have got bigger problems right now just trying to win a football match! But there’s no doubt fans have long memories.
“There’s more for them to worry about right now but Celtic fans want to see someone coming in with (the)Rangers coming back.
“They want to see someone coming in who will take the team forward and names will be emerging all the time. There will be certain names put in the frame they will either be happy with or they won’t.
“But for me the owners have to be the ones who make the decision because they’re putting their money in and they have to go with who they believe is the right man for the job.”
