Celtic are planning to move O’Neill to replace Rodgers

Although Celtic are in the race to win the Scottish Premiership title and the SFA Cup this season, they still have work to do after finding a new manager.

Martin O’Neill has been in interim charge since Wilfried Nancy was sacked at Parkhead, and the Hoops need to find their long-term manager in the summer.

The last manager in charge of the Scottish giants, Nancy, has lost six of his eight games on the pitch after arriving at a club with no European management experience.

Before moving to Celtic, the French head coach had been in charge of the MLS and seemed unable to manage the style of football in Scotland quickly enough.

Nancy’s struggles and short stint with the Hoops should be a lesson for the club when they look to appoint their next manager.

The type of manager Celtic need to hire this summer

Celtic need to hire a manager with a proven track record of managing teams in Europe and leagues with a physical and strong style, as Nancy seemed unprepared to deal with this after leaving the MLS.

The Scottish giants also need a manager who can blend their style of play instead of being stuck to one style, after Callum McGregor suggested that Nancy changed too quickly to suit his style of play.

Brendan Rodgers was a good manager for Celtic, twice, because he had faced pressure at Liverpool, but he also won promotion with Swansea City and had to be smart to survive in the Premier League.

The Northern Irish head coach had the flexibility in his coaching, thanks to his varied CV, and experience in the top leagues to be exactly what Celtic needed him to be, and won the league title in all four of his full seasons at Parkhead.

Celtic must make a bid to sign Brendan Rodgers

Now, Dermot Desmond could find a new club for Rodgers after reports linked him with a desire to find an unemployed manager this summer.

Hoops bosses are reportedly eyeing an ‘ambitious’ move to bring former Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank to Parkhead to replace O’Neill.

Football Insider reported that a number of European teams are interested in hiring the Danish manager after he was sacked by Spurs in February, and it will take some convincing for Celtic to reach an agreement with him to take over in Glasgow.

Before his stint with the Lilywhites, Frank did an impressive job with Brentford. He took them from Midtable in the Championship to regular survival in the Premier League.

His career so far has been remarkably similar to Rodgers’ before moving to Celtic. The Northern Ireland manager had a couple of seasons in the Championship with Reading and Watford before leading Swansea to promotion through the play-offs.

Rodgers then kept the Swans in the Premier League for a season before joining Liverpool. Unfortunately he never won a title with the Reds and was sacked in his fourth season in charge.

Frank, described as “one of the best managers” by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, went down a similar path with his biggest success at Brentford before being sacked by Spurs.

Although it didn’t work for him for long at Spurs, the Dane was praised by Jamie Carragher for his versatility in August, as he showed a willingness to change formations and styles to suit different games.

That is exactly what Celtic need to compete in the Premiership and European competitions, as different styles are needed to be able to demolish a lower team at home compared to the need to sit and play against higher opponents.

Therefore, Frank could be the right time for the Hoops to move forward at home and in the European stage because of his experience in tight and physical leagues, his versatility, and his success in improving Brentford as a team.

Now it’s down to Desmond and the rest of the board to convince the Dane to come in and become their next version of Rodgers in the summer.

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