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New
Boss Gordon Strachan |
Filling
the boots of Martin O’Neill was going to be a tough
enough task for any man, and for Gordon Strachan, he has the envious
task of trying to follow the man who ended years of Rangers’ domination
in Scottish Football during the 80s and 90s.
The five years that Martin O’Neill had in the Celtic hotseat
could never be classed as dull, with SPL Championships, Scottish
Cups and an amazing UEFA Cup adventure all going to ensue that O’Neill
will be classed as a great Celtic manager.
Rumour was rife that O’Neill would hand in his resignation
as Manager due to the health of his wife Geraldine, who has been
receiving treatment for cancer.
A few days after the Bhoys threw away the SPL title, handing it to
rivals Rangers, O’Neill decided he would step down after the
Scottish Cup final against Dundee United, which Celtic subsequently
secured with a 1-0 victory.
“I am leaving Celtic purely for personal reasons and I am extremely
sorry to be departing in such circumstances,” said O’Neill
on leaving the club.
“My wife has stood with me for quite some time so this is the
right thing for me to do. I would like to thank sincerely Dermot
Desmond and the Celtic board for giving me the opportunity to manage
this fantastic club five years ago.”
And with that, a glorious chapter in the history of Celtic ended.
But will a man who is small in height but massive in personality
be able to reclaim the SPL from Ibrox and lead the team to European
glory?
It only took “seconds” for Gordon Strachan to decide
whether to take over at Celtic or not, and he had been working with
O’Neill for two weeks before the announcement searching out
possible transfer targets for the summer.
Speaking at his unveiling, Strachan said: “People have asked
me if I would return to Scotland. When the Celtic job came up I said,
in a second, yes. It’s a world class club. You can’t
turn down that chance to perform as a manager here.
“It’s a hard job to take over. Five years ago if you’d
have asked me, I would have said I wasn’t ready for it but
now I am ready for it.”
High on his priority list is to secure the permanent signing of Craig
Bellamy from Newcastle United. The Welsh international has impressed
during his loan spell at Parkhead, with highlights including his
fantastic goal in the victory over Rangers at Ibrox and his Man-of-the-Match
performance in the Scottish Cup Final.
“I have worked with Craig before at Coventry City. He didn’t
give us any problems. I have spoken to him already and he is positive,
very positive,” said Strachan.
Another possible transfer target is Irish record goalscorer, Robbie
Keane, who has fuelled speculation that he would be interested in
a move to Celtic after praising the appointment of Strachan as the
new Bhoys boss.
“He’s the best manager I have worked under when I was
at Coventry City,” said Keane after scoring the Republic of
Ireland’s winner in Jackie McNamara’s testimonial at
Celtic Park.
“I'm sure he’s going to do a tremendous job - he gets
the best out of players and knows the game inside out. I’m
a Celtic fan, and I have said that one day I would like to play for
them.”
Having dropped down the pecking order at Tottenham, Keane currently
has just one year left on his contract at White Hart Lane. With no
prospect of European football this season and a strained relationship
with boss Martin Jol, the powers-that-be in North London may be prepared
to cash in on the Dubliner while they can.
In midfield, Strachan is looking to add some fresh, young legs to
help those of seasoned campaigners Neil Lennon and Jackie McNamara.
He also had a message to defender Bobo Balde, who has been interesting
Bayern Munich recently that he must have a fear of leaving Celtic
and that “there are not that many better places to go.”
Already leaving Glasgow and heading to the East Midlands to join
Jim Levine at Leicester City are Momo Syllia and set to follow him
is goalkeeper Rab Douglas.
During his five-year tenure, O’Neill secured seven trophies
for Celtic, including three SPL Championships. When he took over,
Rangers had such a stranglehold on the SPL that O’Neill said: “I
will do everything I possibly can to bring success here to this football
club.”
With the help of his loyal backroom staff and players such as Henrik
Larsson, Chris Sutton, Neil Lennon and John Hartson, he managed to
do just as he predicted. He leaves Celtic having made the club a
genuine figure of respect in European Football and made the players
believe that they are winners, and not plucky losers.
Strachan does have some daunting boots to fill at Parkhead, but the
wee man is ready to face up to the challenge head-on.
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