There are now a lot of unanswered questions regarding the Celtic management position. Brendan Rodgers took over as head coach of the team after Ange Postecoglou left, and many assumed they had at least identified their next head coach for the next few years. Regretfully, up until this point, the Northern Irishman’s second stint at Parkhead has not been nearly as successful as his first.
It seems highly likely that Rodgers will be shown the door if Celtic fail to win the league by the conclusion of the season. Therefore, it’s possible that the Hoops may need to find a new manager much earlier than anyone could have predicted—next summer.
Naturally, Rodgers has a few months to turn things around, and let’s hope he does. Having been fired by Leicester City the previous season, he will undoubtedly want to succeed in his second stint at Parkhead.
Ronny Deila is one manager who is unlikely to be given another chance to lead Celtic. Although it appeared that the Norwegian’s career was taking off, things have now turned worse once more. Club Brugge has fired him.
Former Celtic boss fired with no holds barred
The formal notification of Deila’s departure by Club Brugge is also highly intriguing. Despite joining the team in July of last year, the manager’s services to the organization went unappreciated. The text of the statement said:
“Club Brugge has parted ways with head coach Ronny Deila.
Blauw-Zwart has had 48-year-old Deila as their head coach since the start of the current campaign. It was determined to end the partnership with head coach Ronny Deila and assistants Efrain Juarez and Kristof Aelbrecht due to the underwhelming performance and outcome. Club Brugge’s DNA has not been evident in the game played in recent weeks, and the sporting management is certain that the current core can produce better outcomes.”
To put it mildly, that is a rather direct way of stating things. Club Brugge is now 19 points behind the league leaders in fourth place in the Belgian premier flight. Now let’s see where Deila’s situation goes.
Deila didn’t even work at Club Brugge for a full year. The previous manager will be devastated by this as well, having had some successful stints at Standard Liege and New York City FC.
Fantastic news as a Celtics player gets closer to making a comeback
This season, Celtic has had a number of ailments to deal with. Numerous important players have already missed a good number of games. The fact that the summer acquisitions haven’t performed up to par has also limited Brendan Rodgers’ options for selection. It has been a relief to see Nicolas Kuhn and Kyogo Furuhashi regain their form against St Johnstone during this difficult moment.
With any luck, Rodgers will have a somewhat complete roster available following the international break. The arrival of Cameron Carter-Vickers last weekend was a big step in that direction.
Reo Hatate seems to be nearing a comeback this week as well. In the previous two campaigns, he had been a key member of the Hoops. However, he hasn’t played much this season because he hasn’t been able to stay healthy for extended periods of time.
Hatate was chosen last season, and David Turnbull was chosen first. The October match against Atletico Madrid resulted in a hamstring injury that sidelined the Japanese star for many weeks. Early in January, he was back on the bench against the Rangers. His comeback, however, was short-lived as he has been sidelined ever since suffering a calf injury while representing Japan in the AFC Asian Cup.
Fantastic news as a Celtics player gets closer to making a comeback
Hatate has increased up his efforts to get back into action, as reported by Football Scotland, and will play 45 minutes this week in a bounce game. He played St. Mirren and managed a half.
That would imply that Hatate will be included in the team for the March 31 away game against Livingston. That challenging artificial field might not be the ideal setting for him to recuperate from an injury, though. He might still be sitting on the bench and making improvement.
The Glasgow Derby on April 7 at Ibrox is the next game. Hatate and Rodgers will be happy that he appears likely to be available, whether he starts or comes off the bench. After his turbulent season thus far, the supporters will also be hoping that he can once more exert a significant influence on the field.
