Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has told Alan Shearer on The Athletic that the Celtic job really appealed to him – but he turned it down over a matter regarding his staff. He did not want to go into the Celtic hotseat with new staff.
Last summer, Celtic were after a replacement for Neil Lennon. Howe came onto their radar, after his wonderful work at Bournemouth. Clocking up 458 matches as manager over two spells, Howe eventually failed to keep the Cherries up.
He lost his job. Taking a year out of football, he studied the game. Going to numerous training sessions all over the world, even taking in sessions from Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid. Of course, while Kieran Trippier was there.
Last summer, Celtic approached him. But it was a case of having to find a new backroom team. Howe explains the difficulty with having to bring in a new assistant manager and the like – and why it saw him decide to turn them down.
“Celtic was the one job I’d been offered that really appealed. The issue there was my staff. I felt that if I was to come into a pressured job like that, I needed to go in with a sense of stability,” Howe told Shearer on The Athletic.
“I could have recruited new staff, but then you’re working each other out and there’s a transition process where it probably takes three, four, five months. That’s five months too late. I needed my staff. We couldn’t get them together.”
Newcastle manager Howe: Celtic job really appealed
At the time, it would be have been a wonderful move for Howe. Celtic needed a manager to bring them together, to re-shape the squad, to catch back up with Rangers. Postecoglou has done that, winning the league in his first season.
There is no doubt that Howe would have made it work but as he says, he is the kind of manager that relies on his staff. Having to get things right after almost half a year would have arguably got him the sack soon after.
Ultimately, Postecoglou has been perfect for Celtic, and Howe has been perfect for Newcastle.
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