Celtic have known for the best part of six months that they would be looking for a new manager come the end of the season.
They have had ample opportunity to get a list of candidates drawn up and then move swiftly to make a new appointment.
Big clubs don’t waste time with stuff like this. They identify who they want, they act quickly and decisively, and they go out and make it happen.
Chelsea confirmed Xabi Alonso would be their new manager before the season had even finished. Real Madrid made similar moves with Jose Mourinho. Likewise, Man City and Enzo Maresca.
Even beyond the elite clubs, the likes of Toulouse knew they wanted Jens Berthel Askou from Motherwell, so they went out and got it wrapped up as soon as the season had finished.
Yet, despite having the best part of six months to formulate a plan, Celtic still don’t really seem to know what they are looking for.
Robbie Keane has a successful track record with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ferencvaros
The fact that Martin O’Neill and Robbie Keane are the names on a two-man shortlist leaves the distinct impression that Celtic are a club who don’t really know what they want.
O’Neill is 74 years old. He worked wonders last season to win a league and cup double with one of the worst Celtic teams in the club’s history. He turned water into wine.
He is not a coach. He never has been. Primarily, he is a man-manager and a motivator. Those are his main strengths.
Keane, on the other hand, is 45 years of age. He is a younger, more modern and more progressive coach.
The fact these are the two guys in the reckoning for the Celtic job just reaffirms the lack of planning at the club.
They are polar opposites. It’s like sitting down in a restaurant to order a curry, only to be unsure whether you fancy a korma or a vindaloo.
It has been suggested by some that O’Neill could take the team for another 12 months, a straight one-year deal, with Keane coming in to work as his assistant.
Martin O’Neill rescued Celtic’s season and delivered a League and Scottish Cup double
The transition would then see O’Neill depart and Keane move up to become the club’s new manager on a long-term deal.
But why would Keane agree to that? He’s a manager in his own right. He has won league titles in Israel and Hungary. He is not an apprentice.
Ultimately, Celtic have a decision to make. Do they stick with a safe pair of hands in O’Neill? Or do they look longer-term and go for Keane?
For all he did an outstanding job with a sub-standard squad last season, O’Neill is not the answer long-term. He freely admitted this himself only a couple of weeks ago.
The romantics among the Celtic support would, of course, love for him to continue. He is an iconic figure and galvanises the whole club in a way that few that few others can.
But, as a club, Celtic need to modernise themselves. The structure of the club, and specifically the recruitment, has been a shambles for years.
For all he may offer a rock-solid bet of winning the league again next season, he’s not the man to move Celtic forward and help modernise these departments.
If Celtic want to move forward and progress as a club, they need to see past romance and sentiment. They should not be blinkered by short-term thinking.
Keane would be the much smarter appointment. He’s young, hungry, has a clear style of play, and has already delivered a solid track record of success.
Could those same things not have been said of Wilfried Nancy? Well, no, not really. Comparing Nancy to Keane would be comparing apples and oranges.
Nancy arrived with absolutely no knowledge of Celtic or Scottish football. What knowledge he *thought* he had of Scottish football came from the fact that he almost signed for, erm, Carlisle back in the day.
He was a very poor communicator with broken English. He was also strictly wedded to the idea of trying to make radical changes to the playing style mid-season. The players switched off pretty quickly.
Keane, on the other hand, would arrive with a full pre-season to implement his ideas. A top-class player in his day who also knows Celtic as a club, he would command the respect of the dressing room.
Wilfried Nancy (right) was a poor communicator in his brief spell at Celtic Park
All the more so given the fact that he has branched out and won titles in Israel and Hungary with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ferencvaros respectively.
Ferencvaros were a good watch in the Europa League last season, beating Danny Rohl’s Rangers in the group stage, and making a run to the last 16 before eventually losing to Braga.
The fact that Keane has already shown an ability to make an impact in Europe with fairly modest resources should be another feather in his cap.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle that Keane would face if he got the job would be political. There is a section of the Celtic support who take a dim view of the fact he worked in Israel.
But, in any case, Dermot Desmond has a very clear choice to make. Does he stick with O’Neill and opt for a safe pair of hands?
Or does he look longer-term and for a younger manager? Keane’s credentials are solid. Of the options available, he’s the man who could move Celtic forward.
But time is ticking on. There is a huge amount of work to do to get the squad into shape for the start of next season.
Holding talks with both men this week, Desmond needs to make a decision sooner rather than later to give the club and their new manager the best chance of hitting the ground running.
