Charlie Mulgrew Names Three Man Shortlist for Celtic Job

Former Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew has revealed a three-man shortlist he believes should be considered for the club’s managerial position…

Mulgrew suggested that Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou, Wales manager Craig Bellamy, and Bodo/Glimt head coach Kjetil Knutsen are all his ideal candidates who deserve discussions ahead of the expected summer vacancy. He also outlined his reasoning behind each recommendation.

At the same time, Mulgrew ruled out potential moves for Robbie Keane and Roberto Martinez, stating that they would not be his preferred choices for the role.

Speaking on The Breakdown, he said: “So I spoke to Joe Ledley the other day and he put a name in my head: Craig Bellamy. And he spoke really highly of him and it made sense.”

“So mine would be Berthel Askou, Craig Bellamy. I’d like to see the Bodo/Glimt manager spoken to. I don’t know how realistic that is.”

When asked about whether Keane was a viable option, Mulgrew responded: “Robbie Keane wouldn’t be in mine, and not because I’ve got anything bad to say about him, just because I don’t know enough about him. He’s been at Ferencvaros, he’s done a good job, aye. But my three would be Berthel Askou, Craig Bellamy, and the Bodo/Glimt manager if you could speak to him.”

When questioned over whether his suggested candidates would carry sufficient appeal among the Celtic support, he responded: “Well, I don’t know if they are right, but if they’re not, then I would, my question would be ‘who do you think realistically we can get?”

“Because if you think that we’re going to get somebody with an established name, it’s unrealistic. Like now, Celtic’s a huge club and anyone that comes loves it, but realistically, it needs to be a chance for them to get into the big time.”

“I don’t know anybody in the category of Brendan Rodgers when they got him at that time. Is there anybody in that sort of category right now? Martinez was mentioned. I don’t fancy Martinez for me.”

Conor Spence