Journalist Michael Gannon has outlined just how big a step up the Celtic job is likely to be for Eddie Howe should he be appointed.
The Celtic manager’s job has yet to be officially filled at this point, although em odds and reports do seem to suggest that it will be the former AFC Bournemouth boss Howe that will take on the reins, with TalkSport claiming that he will “be the new Celtic manager in time for the start of next season.”
And whilst making the move from the English Premier League to the Scottish Premiership might be something of a step down in terms of the prestige between the two leagues, making the step from AFC Bournemouth to Celtic, a club with a vast history of success is going to be entirely different.
And speaking on the latest edition of the Record Celtic podcast (27:21), Gannon sent out something of a warning to Howe about just how big the step up is likely going to be if and when he is named as the next manager:
“I think Eddie Howe is in for a shock as well. I think being manager at Bournemouth, albeit in the top flight of England isn’t the same as being manager of Celtic. Alright you might compare the leagues and say it’s not quite the same thing. But the demands at Celtic will take him aback.
“He will be surprised at the scale of the club, the size of the demands. He will also be a little bit surprised and kind of taken aback about the demands versus what the reality is.
“His expectation will be to compete in Scotland, win the league and eventually get to the group stage of the Champions League. But his budget will be probably half of what it was when he was at Bournemouth in his last season in the Premier League. He had a £107m wage bill at Bournemouth so that market of players they had there isn’t the same market for Celtic.”
TIF Thoughts on Michael Gannon’s comments on Eddie Howe
This goes back to a point that we have raised before on This Is Futbol, that the appointment of Howe doesn’t come across as too ambitious, especially when you consider the only silverware he has lifted was the EFL Championship in 2015.
And given the anger that has emanated from the fans this season towards the board and the step back they took this season, if they don’t get this appointment right, the job does prove to be too big for him and Celtic don’t put up a fight with Rangers next season, then that anger is only going to increase.
So it is an awfully big risk on their front if they do decide to make that move for the Englishman.
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