Key questions Celtic will be asking as they narrow down search
ARBROATH V QUEEN OF THE SOUTH
CELTIC are in the market for a new manager and without doubt this is becoming a crucial appointment. The turnaround in one year has been astonishing with their total control of Scottish football coming to an end so quickly. It was something I couldn’t see coming despite the obvious improvements Steven Gerrard was making with Rangers.
At the start of this season, the debate was on whether Rangers could put in a challenge for the league title but the outcome has been incredibly contrary to what was the general expectation.
Celtic did manage to win the Scottish Cup in December to fulfil their treble-winning campaign of 19/20 but other than that it’s been a really poor season. I still feel that, given time, Neil Lennon could have turned things around again but now his position has been settled we await with interest to see who will be his replacement. There have been some major candidates already identified and I’m sure the board are making enquiries behind the scenes to establish three crucial factors regarding the potential candidates: Are they interested in the job? What sort of wage would they accept? Do they require to bring in their own staff as support?
If the favoured candidate is in a job, they will also be interested to know if there is a get-out clause but I don’t envisage this being a problem with Celtic as they will be very keen to get the identified candidate regardless of what the settlement cost might be.
There have been some big names mentioned already with Eddie Howe, Steve Clarke and David Moyes all being talked about. Howe did a terrific job at Bournemouth, getting them promotion and keeping them in the Premiership for five years. The one query the Celtic board might have in considering him is the issue of whether he can handle being in charge of a club that demands success and not one, like Bournemouth, where his team are constantly underdogs. David Moyes, on the other hand, has recovered well from his bleak term at Manchester United. He’s doing a great job with West Ham and would certainly be a strong candidate for the Celtic job.
One name that has only been occasionally mentioned is Roberto Martinez. Obviously, with Belgium currently holding the No.1 position in the FIFA rankings, it would appear to be difficult to lure him back into club management. However, perhaps he might feel he has done his bit at international level and having taken Belgium to such heights, this might be the ideal time to say his farewells, leaving when his status is at a peak when he would be a candidate for any available high-profile club job.
IT was sad to learn about the passing of Ian St John this week. He was a real Scottish football legend with his great football career extending into the media when he linked up with another legendary player, Jimmy Greaves, for a great TV football show in the late 1980s, early ’90s. I met him a few times when I was down south playing and spent some time with him in France in 1998 when we were both doing TV work during the World Cup. He was a very humble person. He was also full of football stories as he had contact with so many famous people during his illustrious career. I loved hearing the ones regarding Bill Shankly when he played under him for Liverpool. He told me that when he was making his debut, Shankly said: “This is Liverpool, so with you being Scottish, you’re going to have to be brilliant today for the fans to consider you OK.” The
Saint was certainly considered “OK” during his six years at Anfield.
BEN Williamson has hailed the nurturing influence of Rangers coach Kevin Thomson as the talented teenager makes waves with in-form Arbroath.
The 19-year-old joined on loan in January and is yet to taste defeat, immediately establishing himself in the heart of midfield and helping to inspire a remarkable eight-game unbeaten run.
And the playmaker pointed to a coaching mentor at Auchenhowie for guiding him along the way.
Williamson said: “Kevin Thomson is always on the phone to me and we’ve done Zoom calls looking at my game. What am I doing well? What can I improve? I’m close with Kev and I know I can get in touch with him off my own back for advice. He’ll tell me if I’ve done well and he’ll tell me if I’ve had a shocker – and what I can do about it.
“I grew up a Rangers fan so I know what Kev was all about. With being part-time at Arbroath as well, he gives me wee extra drills and things to work on. I just soak it up and want to learn.”
It is understood Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister even phoned Arbroath boss Dick Campbell after Williamson’s debut.
Williamson added: “Billy Kirkwood is either at all my games or has someone there, and I’m doing a lot of work with the analysis department at Rangers, so they are brilliant when it comes to giving you feedback and looking at your progress.”
NEIL GOURLEY admitted he blew his shot at European Indoor Championship glory last night after he slumped to 11th in the 1500 metres final in Torun.
Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski defended the title he won two years ago in Glasgow after Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who landed silver then, was stripped of victory for stepping off the track.
But Gourley was left in a hopeless game of catch-up against the leaders following a nightmare start which he confessed was self-inflicted, fading from fifth on the last lap as his hopes imploded.
“It wasn’t tactics,” said the 26-year-old Glaswegian who was robbed of a medal shot by illness in 2019 after reaching the final.
“I stumbled off the start line and it lost me a lot of ground. But these things happen in indoor 1500m running. You need to be ready for that. I really worked hard to get back to the elite group. But I had to do too much because of a stupid error coming off the start line. I’ve ran in two many tactical 1500 metre races to make that mistake. That was poor and there’s no-one else to blame but me.
“I got within striking distance, but I’d worked far too hard to do it. I was completely forcing it. I had to try. I put myself in a position but truthfully I was spent by the time I got back to them after making that mistake at the start. And the wheels came off. I didn’t have anything and there was still 200m to go.”
Now he will return to his base in the United States and get ready for his shot at making the Olympic team this summer in an event where at least four Britons will expect to hunt the three seats on offer on the plane.
“I have blown this opportunity so I have to make the most of other ones this summer,” he said.
Guy Learmonth insisted he will not get distracted by athletics’ latest shoe controversy after making a winning start in the 800-metre heats.
The Borderer, 28, surged clear of world indoor champion Adam Kszczot to dominate his opening heat in 1:49.66 and move into this evening’s semis along with British team-mate Jamie Webb.
Despite fears that the latest Nike spikes will see the record books ripped up, Learmonth claims it is noise he needs to block out.
“I’ve just found out I can mute people on Twitter and it’s been amazing,” he said. “I’m trying to really shut down things and focus. I’m in a really good place in my life at the moment.
“It is what it is with the shoes. I’m not going to worry about it. I’m just going to go and race. That’s the beauty of championship racing. It’s not paced racing. It’s not Diamond Leagues. It’s about who races the best. This is going to be true-run races with rounds and the final. It’s not about being the fastest, it’s about winning.”
Spain’s Alvaro de Arriba, who took gold in Glasgow two years ago, crashed out in the opening round.
Amy-Eloise Markovc bagged the UK’s first gold by succeeding Laura Muir as champion in the women’s 3,000m.
The 25-year-old, who moved from Manchester to the
USA aged two, held on in a sprint to clock 8:46.43 with Welshwoman Verity Ockenden nudged into bronze by France’s Alice Finot by just sixhundredths of a second.
“It feels amazing,” Markovc said. “To have the flag draped round your shoulders is why you do this. I am so pleased. I had to stay calm and confident. I knew we were moving at a good pace.
“I will probably do the 5,000m in Tokyo. Hopefully I will make the team. I will give it my best shot.”
I had too much to do because of a stupid error