ROBERTO MANCINI has revealed he would like to manage Celtic.
However, the Italian insisted he would only take the job if the Hoops had a team that could take on Europe’s elite on a regular basis.
The former Manchester City gaffer admitted: “The Scottish fans are the best in the world, I love them.
“In one way, it would be nice to see Celtic and Rangers (sic) in the Premier League, but I don’t think it will ever happen because it would also be the end of Scottish football.
“If Celtic were to build a team strong enough to regularly compete in the Champions League, I might decide to manage them one day.
“For me, that is the next step for them and one which I believe they are trying to take.
“Winning the league has become normal for them.
“They have the fans and they have the history. Now they have to strive to become an important player at the top level in Europe.”
Mancini, 52, was in charge of Inter Milan during their thrilling 3-3 draw with the Hoops at Parkhead in the Europa League knock-out stages in February 2015.
The Serie A outfit scraped through against Ronny Deila’s outfit in the San Siro with a stoppage-time winner following Virgil van Dijk’s first-half red card.
Mancini was axed by Inter weeks before the start of this season and he is now ready to return to the dug-out.
He added: “In the future, I would love to coach the Italian national team.
“To lead your country is the crowning ambition for any coach.
“For the moment, though, I want to continue working with club teams.
“I do not think I will go to China. They called me, but I said no because, for me, the real place for football is Europe.”
