Is Neil Lennon the right man for Scottish Premiership champions Celtic? Not when Rafa Benitez is potentially leaving Newcastle United, according to Burley.
Former Celtic midfielder Craig Burley has implored the Scottish Premiership champions to ‘make a statement’ and hire Rafa Benitez this summer, speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT (20 May, 12pm).
Neil Lennon has spent the last three months in charge of The Hoops on an interim basis and, should they beat Hearts at Hampden Park in next week’s Scottish Cup final, the Northern Irishman will lead the club to an unprecedented third successive domestic treble.
But whether Lennon deserves the job on a full-time basis is another matter. Some critics have encouraged Celtic to think much bigger than the 47-year-old if they want to re-establish themselves as one of Europe’s biggest clubs.
And Burley believes Benitez, who famously won the Champions League in 2005 with Liverpool before enjoying spells in charge of Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, would be a substantial upgrade – one that Celtic need to make.
“Celtic have to make a statement, they have to go after somebody like Benitez,” said Burley, who wore green and white between 1997 and 1999.
“He has an excellent CV, Champions League winner, he won the league in Spain with Valencia.
“We’re talking a top draw manager. What he’s doing at Newcastle is amazing.”
Benitez has twice kept Newcastle in the Premier League on meagre resources but his future at St James’ Park is uncertain with his contract due to expire at the end of next month.
Celtic have also been linked with other big names such as Jose Mourinho, Claudio Ranieri and Laurent Blanc in recent weeks.
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