4-2-3-1 coach is very keen to replace O’Neill at Celtic

The scale and speed of the decline at Celtic has been rather than stark, with it having been as recently as February 2025 that the Scottish champions ran Bayern Munich close in the Champions League.

Mere months later, the Bhoys failed to qualify for the competition at all following that debacle against Kairat, with Brendan Rodgers subsequently calling it quits last October.

There’s now a suggestion that perhaps Martin O’Neill might do the same, amid yet another chaotic start to the season, with the future of the Celtic top job very much the key talking point right now.

Will O’Neill follow Rodgers in walking away at Celtic?

Dermot Desmond’s brutal takedown of Rodgers a year ago said it all of the toxic nature of the Northern Irishman’s exit, the former Liverpool boss having left mid-season for the second time as Celtic boss.

This time certainly felt different, with Rodgers laying bare his frustrations publicly in the lead up to his bombshell resignation, having become particularly irked by the club’s transfer policy.

A 3-1 defeat to Hearts proved the final straw, as in came O’Neill, yet just shy of 12 months on, the 74-year-old may well have his own decision to make.

Indeed, three successive defeats, as well as the collapse against LASK, has plunged his future into doubt, with comments made by centre-back star, Cameron Carter-Vickers, also seemingly undermining the veteran’s position.

Like Rodgers before him, recruitment appears a particular issue again, the Glasgow side notably failing to get a deal over the line for Torino’s Gvidas Gineitis.

REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

Football FanCast exclusively reported that the saga surrounding new signing Oliver Sorensen has also been a key bone of contention, the Dane viewed as an Arne Engels replacement by the board, yet having been omitted from the matchday squad altogether last time out.

There is a feeling O’Neill may well walk away as a result, with talk ramping up regarding who might replace him.

The managers Celtic could hire to replace O’Neill

Whether O’Neill decides to jump or is pushed remains to be seen, with it not out of the question, of course, that he stays on to right the wrongs of recent weeks. He’s earned a sense of patience, of course.

If a change is to be made for whatever reason, the Premiership simply can’t afford to get the next appointment wrong, having hopefully learned their lesson with Wilfried Nancy’s wretched tenure last year.

In terms of who their leading target is, Football FanCast exclusively reported that Kieran McKenna remains the frontrunner, albeit with the 40-year-old currently not interested in the vacancy.

The man who previously came close to taking on the role in 2021, in the form of Eddie Howe, is also again on the market, although like McKenna, the Englishman’s focus may well be on the Premier League’s top six.

The likes of Craig Bellamy and Robbie Keane were floated over the summer, the latter now out of work, with Celtic Park still undoubtedly an attractive destination, even for all the chaos.

Indeed, one manager, in particularly, appears particularly interested in the potential vacancy.

Why Celtic target could be Rodgers 2.0

As reported by TEAMtalk, the feeling is that after receiving the public packing of Michael Nicholson, any change in the dugout is only likely to occur should O’Neill choose to walk away.

REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff

Should the serial-winning coach opt to call it a day, there are already several names being discussed, with the aforementioned McKenna on the agenda, as is the potential internal appointment of Shaun Maloney.

The report also notes that another name in the mix is Neil Lennon, the former Hoops boss said to be ‘very keen’ on returning to Parkhead if he were to be approached, the Northern Irishman said to be under consideration.

He’d likely be a safe pair of hands, having been in charge of the club in two occasions previously, but do Celtic really want yet another former boss back in the hot seat?

It’s almost becoming a little like the Netherlands job, with Celtic cycling through the same list of managers, having called upon Rodgers and then O’Neill in recent years.

Taking a leap of faith in the form of Nancy may have burned the board, yet the Frenchman felt almost doomed to fail from the start, parachuted in ahead of a vital run of fixtures, and without the aid of a pre-season behind him.

The Nancy saga shouldn’t have any bearing on Celtic’s next appointment, with the Parkhead hierarchy needing to ensure they don’t simply play it safe, even if Lennon is a Celtic man through and through.

Like Rodgers, he has twice already left his post at the club, mirroring his compatriot by hankering for a move to England in 2014, having moved on to Bolton Wanderers after four years in charge.

His exit in 2021 was far less amicable, Lennon handing in what felt like an inevitable resignation after falling 18 points behind Rangers at the time, the experienced coach undoubtedly a victim of the ongoing turmoil at the club.

He won titles in both of his spells in charge, typically favouring a 4-2-3-1 set-up, yet the 55-year-old isn’t a fresh, exciting appointment, with any move set to be the club simply re-treading old ground.

Perhaps, as with O’Neill last term, Lennon would be a man to steady the ship on a short-term basis, but the champions can’t keep kicking the can down the road.

It feels as if they are still waiting for someone to properly fill Ange Postecoglou’s shoes in Glasgow, with Lennon, for all his merits, seemingly not the man to do that.