OPINION
With Celtic disappointing in Europe for yet another season, a recent report has suggested that the club’s hierarchy could be handed a wonderful excuse to justify more failure next year.
The Daily Mail reported that the Gunners were set to review Wenger’s position in the summer and had already started drafting up a list of managers who could potentially replace him.
The newspaper claimed that Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim, Germany manager Joachim Low, Manchester City coach Mikel Arteta and current Celtic manager Rodgers were the early contenders for the role.
If Arsenal were to tear Rodgers away from the Hoops in the summer in order to make him Wenger’s successor, then Celtic will have to begin their own hunt to find a new manager.
There will be plenty of candidates vying to take charge of the club, but it will be hard task to find someone worthy of the challenge.
The Hoops have dominated the Scottish Premier League in recent seasons, but have failed to translate their domestic success in to being able to conquer Europe.
This season under Rodgers, Celtic crashed out of the Champions League group stages after suffering embarrassingly heavy defeats to both Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain.
Rodgers’ side followed that up by quickly exiting the Europa League as Zenit St Peterburg thrashed them 3-0 in the second leg of their fixture, to send the Hoops home.
This lack of success in Europe is a tale as old as time for the Hoops, with their European glory days being but a distant memory at this point.
The next step for Celtic, even in the light of Rangers improving in the league, is to achieve European success or at least make progress on recent seasons.
It’s hard for the Hoops to achieve this task as they’re not among Europe’s biggest spenders, to say the least, in the transfer market.
This looks unlikely to change in the summer and means that the club are destined for more disappointment.
Celtic supporters will no doubt vent their frustration at whoever their manager is and the club’s hierachy, as it will be another season where they’ve failed to move on.
However if Rodgers departs in the summer, the club’s board, regardless of who they appoint, will have an excuse to justify their lack of success in Europe.
They would be able to easily argue that Rodgers leaving unsettled the club and that their new manager needs time to adjust before kicking-on in Europe.
While fans would be upset and probably see this as just an excuse, they will no doubt accept it as it’s logical.
This buys the hierarchy another year of getting away with complacency in Europe and keeps their purses tightly zipped.