It will be a surprise if Celtic don’t appoint a Director of Football just now, but there are two schools of thought when it comes to finding the ideal candidate.
In many ways it does seem logical that the new DOF would be closely aligned with the manager so they can have similar philosophies on transfers, but then that also means the disaster will be greater if they get it wrong.
The other theory sees someone appointed who will stick to the club’s philosophy in the transfer market, so if they are recruiting the right players then the club doesn’t need an overhaul every time a manager comes and goes.
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Eddie Howe is expected to take over in the summer so it looks like the first major choice of the rebuild has been taken, but a report from The Athletic has suggested another is on the way as Howe wants former Bournemouth Technical Director Richard Hughes to be the new DOF.
The report does indicate that Celtic are reluctant to appoint someone who is so close to Howe, mainly because they want someone who will be there for a long time and they don’t want to be in this situation again if Howe leaves in two or three years.
You can read into that as the club either doubting Howe’s ability as a manager or that they fear he’ll jump at a Premier League job when it comes up, but it could also be some sensible planning for the future and that is a positive thing.
At this point it’s not clear how much of a deal-breaker this would be for Howe when it comes to taking the role, but it should give us an idea of how much power he’ll have at the club if he is appointed without Hughes by his side.
I cannot see Desmond and McKay being told by the incoming manager who they get to appoint as Director of Football, that would be ludicrous and put the club on a back footing from day 1. The challenge is how the club manage this; it would be a real surprise if the job doesn’t go to Harkin as it might also damage our standing to have someone lined up then ditch them at the 11th hour. Perhaps Hughes could come in but not as DoF, maybe as recruitment chief or technical director, which his current job title is. Howe won’t be there forever so someone like Harkin would make sense as he would be the continuity link. The longer it all goes on, the more speculation will be rife so fingers crossed they can all agree how to work together. Perhaps that’s where the advantage of McKay coming on board now will help – he could be the one to find the answer to all of this