IT’S coming up for a week since the stunning departure of Brendan Rodgers as Celtic manager.
But as it stands, the Hoops don’t appear any closer to finding their permanent successor.
It was late on Monday night when Celtic dropped the bombshell statement that Rodgers had resigned as boss.
Then came the blistering words of majority shareholder Dermot Desmond who tore into the 52-year old, accusing him of creating a “toxic” atmosphere and being “misleading”.
In a further stunning twist, legendary Celtic boss Martin O’Neill was announced as the new interim manager.
O’Neill, 73, made a stunning return to Parkhead 20 years after leaving the first time around.
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Assisted by ex-Hoops star Shaun Maloney, O’Neill oversaw a 4-0 win over Falkirk in his first game back in midweek.
O’Neill has insisted he’s only back in the dugout for the short-term, although exactly how long the stint will be remains to be seen.
What is certain is that he’ll be in charge of today’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final showdown with Rangers at Hampden.
Beyond that, there have been several names in the frame to be Rodgers’ full-time replacement.
In the wake of Rodgers’ exit, SunSport exclusively revealed that Kieran McKenna was a contender.
The Ipswich manager, 39, refused to rule himself out of contention when quizzed on the matter during the week.
Title-winning ex-Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou was a name in the frame but it’s understood the Australian is set to take a break from football and a return to Glasgow is unlikely at this stage.
Robbie Keane, Wilfried Nancy, Craig Bellamy and even former Rangers manager favourite Kevin Muscat have been other names in the mix.
Another name to enter the frame was Lee Carsley.
The former Everton midfielder, 51, is currently in charge of the England under-21 side.
Prior to Thomas Tuchel‘s arrival at the beginning of the year, Carsley had an interim stint in charge of the England senior team.
Born in Birmingham, Carsley won 40 caps for the Republic of Ireland at international level.
When England faced Ireland late last year during his interim manager spell, Carsley’s refusal to sing God Save the King caused somewhat of a storm.
While he’s enjoyed tremendous success as England U21 boss, winning back-to-back Euros, his only permanent role as a club manager was a brief stint in charge of Brentford towards the end of 2015.
During the week, Carsley emerged as a shock new name in the frame for the Celtic Park vacancy.
However, it’s now being reported that Carsley will STICK with the England under-21 job.
That’s according to SunSport columnist Alan Nixon, who says Carsley is ‘not keen’ on the Celtic vacancy.
Writing on his Patreon, Nixon claims Carsley has been contacted about the Celtic job but is ‘happy’ in his current position.
The report goes on to say that Carsley is likely to be in the frame for the permanent England job when current boss Tuchel moves on from the position.
Former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, meanwhile, claimed during a live event in Glasgow that he’d heard the man the Hoops want to be their next boss wouldn’t be available until DECEMBER.
Tam Cowan was hosting the event at a city pub and revealed all on the radio.
He said: “Gordon is a bit of a Celtic legend, knows all the main characters in this story on the board.
“He’s been the former Celtic manager and his son Gavin has apparently survived the nuclear bomb that wen off.
“So Gordon is clearly in the know, he’s one of the most outspoken people in football that I know, particularly at a ‘private event’.
“Even then, he was ever so slightly cagey.
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“But he won’t mind me sharing this because he did with the audience … according to Gordon Strachan the guy Celtic are after they won’t be able to get him until December.
“Now joining the dots with that the closest that we all came to was Craig Bellamy, an international manager just now, in terms of when the qualifiers finish although there could be playoffs after that.”
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