Recently various sources reported that Rafael Benitez is emerging as the favourite to take over at Celtic Park. The Newcastle United manager is yet to commit his future with the Magpies, and his contract is going to come to an end soon. However, recently reliable Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie claimed that Celtic are not even in contention to land the Spanish manager because of the wage gap.
A number of Celtic-supporting friends asking about Rafa Benítez ‘link’ to their manager vacancy. Rafa meeting Newcastle bosses this week hoping to agree a new contract, plus his current wages make Celtic a non-starter.
— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) May 14, 2019
There was almost a sense of inevitability that the Bhoys would fail to land some of the high profile names. They were also linked with Jose Mourinho, who seemed like a long shot. This is not the first time that Celtic are going to face disappointment in terms of recruiting a manager as all the high profile names which they have been linked within the past few months have gone out of bounds.
Marco Rose was being linked with the Celtic job before he committed to Borussia Mönchengladbach. David Wagner’s name did the round but he too committed to Bundesliga outfit Schalke. Roberto Martinez and Andre Villas-Boas gave a clear indication that they will not join at Parkhead. Now it seems like Rafael Benitez is also a no go for the club after this recent update from a reliable journalist.
With every passing day, it is becoming more and more likely that Neil Lennon would take up the mantle permanently in Glasgow. However, that should be worrying signs for the Celtic faithful as Lennon hasn’t shown enough in the past few months as a manager.
He is likely to guide the Hoops towards a treble, but Celtic have looked disjointed and devoid of ideas under him. Lennon has just about managed to get the job done, and most of it is because of the overall quality of the players which Celtic have rather than the tactics and strategy of the manager.
Why does Celtic need to look beyond Lennon?
We don’t see how Lennon would be able to reinvent this side and take this team to the next level after what Brendan Rodgers did at the club. Settling for Lennon would be settling for mediocrity and Celtic should keep on looking for a manager who can take this team to the next level.
Lennon hasn’t managed outside of England and Scotland, and that doesn’t help the manager in gaining insights on the talents in various countries. Celtic need a manager who knows different leagues and can help them bring players during this rebuilding phase. The Hoops showed that they could break the bank to land Rodgers and maybe they can do something like that with Benitez as well if they are keen on the Spaniard.
