During a recent video on the 67 Hail Hail YouTube channel, journalist Hamish Carton talked about potential replacements for Neil Lennon should the Northern Irishman depart from the Glasgow club and one of the coaches that he discussed was ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Stale Solbakken.
Solbakken most recently managed Copenhagen from August 2013 until just last month when the Danish club decided that they needed to appoint a new manager.
Following their Premiership draw with Hibernian this past weekend, Celtic have won just one of their last seven games in all competitions and so it may be fair to say that they aren’t enjoying a great run of form at present and with that in mind, it might be understandable why Carton discussed potential replacements for Lennon during this YouTube video.
Here is what the journalist had to say about the possibility of the Norwegian coach taking the reins at Parkhead: “We have first-hand experience of Solbakken, it was his Copenhagen side that completely schooled Neil Lennon and Celtic at Parkhead. They went a round further than that in the Europa League before eventually being put out in the quarter-finals by Manchester United – pretty narrow game that as well.
“He is free at the moment, he has experience of winning titles at the biggest club in the country, like Celtic are, he’s won eight titles as manager of Copenhagen in two spells, he’s also got experience of British football, having spent a less-than-successful period at Wolves but that experience is still there.
“This wouldn’t cost us anything, we’ve appointed Scandinavians in the past, I think this is a kind of one – thinking outside the box a bit – that could transform Celtic.”
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TIF Thoughts on what Carton had to say about Solbakken…
Knowing that Solbakken has won eight league titles in total during his managerial career and Celtic are on the hunt for what would be a historic 10th Scottish top-flight title in a row this season, perhaps the 52-year-old’s history of domestic success would make him a strong contender for the Parkhead hot seat.
Considering that Solbakken is now without a club and Celtic are in a poor run of form, it would seem as though the timing could be right for the Norwegian to take charge of Celtic, should the club decide part ways with Lennon.
With all of this in mind, we feel Carton is right in suggesting that appointing Solbakken could be a wise move from Celtic if Lennon fails to turn things around and it will be interesting to see if the club does target him.