IT’S SHAPING up as a straight duel between Martin O’Neill and Robbie Keane for the Celtic manager’s job.
Dermot Desmond is reportedly preparing for talks with both men in London today with the champions hoping to settle the guessing game by the end of the week, according to the Scottish Daily Mail.
Scotland’s double winners will undergo a monumental team rebuild in the summer, as CQN reported yesterday, and the Irish billionaire is eager to offer clarity ahead of the multi-million pound makeover.
MAKE MINE A DOUBLE…Martin O’Neill with the newly-won Scottish Cup to add to the Premiership title he delivered the previous week.
O’Neill answered two SOS calls from his former club during a traumatic and turbulent campaign after Brendan Rodgers quit in late October and again following the sacking of Wilfried Nancy in early January.
Somehow, amid the chaos, the 74-year-old Irishman led the team to a dramatic last-day title success and the club’s fifth consecutive championship with a 3-1 victory over long-term league leaders Hearts.
And he completed the silverware double with the side’s 3-1 triumph over Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden a week later.
It remains to be seen if O’Neill will be prepared to spend another one or two years as team manager in tandem with Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham.
WHEN IRISH EYES ARE SMILING…Robbie Keane enjoys success at Ferencvaros.
Keane, who parted company with Ferencvaros last week, is in the frame and is said to be willing to commit for three years.
It is believed the Republic of Ireland legend has already targeted former Hoops players Scott Brown and Johnny Hayes as potential backroom men.
Keane, 45, who played for the club on a short-term loan from Spurs in 2010, won the title and the domestic Cup during his 18-month stint at the Hungarian club.
Prior to that, he managed Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he also won the championship.
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