Pat Nevin warned Celtic on Off the Ball that appointing Roy Keane as their next manager could turn ‘very, very ugly’ because Rangers ‘may well get stronger next season’.
Both Celtic and Rangers lock horns on Sunday with a lot of talk surrounding the guard of honour and who the Bhoys will appoint next to replace the departed Neil Lennon.
The Scottish Sun previously claimed that Keane would be interested in the Celtic job – and if he does take the reigns then he will have a Rangers side that are now in full flow after stopping the ten.
Ex-Scotland international Nevin shared his thoughts on Celtic’s job hunt and how he would be ‘slightly surprised’ if Keane was the next man through the Parkhead doors.
“I have to say I would be slightly surprised if he took it,” said Nevin. “He’d be going back to a job that’s an incredibly difficult job, just now. It’s a really difficult job because Celtic are such a low at the moment.
“There would have to be a bit of rebuild to be done. He would have to get so many promises and they would have to stick to those promises and give him the money to actually do that.
“Rangers may well actually get stronger next season. Gerrard’s done a really good job with them. If you walk into that and get it wrong then it can be very, very ugly indeed. Really ugly.
“So, it’s a big call for him. If he has it in his heart, you know what Keano is like, if he has it in his heart, he will fight and battle to get anything he wants out of it. I think it’s a big call.”
This will be one of the most important decisions Celtic make in recent times because if they get this one wrong then it can have a serious knock-on effect.
Whilst Keane didn’t stay in Glasgow enough to build hero status with the Bhoys supporters, he is still a popular figure in the footballing world and the type of character needed for this fire-fighter-like job.
Perhaps if Keane does come in then he is best suited to being a number two behind a Steve Clarke, or anybody else that might get the gig, because after winning nine on the bounce, this Celtic team need a serious kicking after off and on the field failures this season.
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