Celtic Managerial Candidates Have CV Shortcomings

Which is part of the reason why Jens Berthel Askou, the Dane in the dugout for the Steelmen, finds himself on the list of potential successors to interim manager Martin O’Neill at Celtic Park.

Indeed, with Celtic and Rangers scuffling for results and Hearts taking a pragmatic approach all the way to the top of the table under Derek McInnes, pundits and punters alike have been crediting Askou’s side with playing some of the best football this season–on a shoestring budget, no less–in the Scottish top flight.

However, there is one notable trend working against the Dane, assuming he even wants to make the move to Parkhead.

The last time Celtic appointed a manager directly from another club in Scotland? Tommy Burns in 1994, and there is definitely an asterisk next to that.

Yes, Burns made the move up the M77 from Kilmarnock but (for those who don’t “know the history”) he was a Celtic man through and through.

Askou doesn’t just lack a history in one of Europe’s bigger leagues, his record as a manager prior to coming to Scotland is, well, spotty at best. At three of the four clubs he managed, including two in his homeland and one in Sweden, his highest winning percentage was 40%.

His only “successful” managerial stint was at Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands, where he won 73% of the matches for which he was in charge.

Ange Postecoglou may have been a relative unknown when he arrived at Celtic in 2021, but his track record in Australia and Japan was better than that.

Notably, Askou has also only been a gaffer for a total of 240 matches (and counting).

Another supposedly top candidate for the Celtic job, Robbie Keane, is even more of a neophyte, with fewer than 150 matches as a manager under his belt, albeit with a much higher winning percentage.

The Irishman’s comments to the media in the aftermath of Ferencvaros’ (his current employer) elimination from the Europa League were pretty vanilla, but enough to spur speculation in the Scottish press.

Per the Daily Record, for what it’s’ worth, Keane claimed he had completed “most important task … to make my players better.”

But can he make Celtic’s players better? For both he and Askou, that is the question.