Robbie Keane has outlined a proposed backroom team with strong Scottish connections as he looks to secure the vacant Celtic manager’s role.
The former Hoops loanee has already met with members of the club board in London to discuss the position at Parkhead.
Keane, 45, faces competition from veteran Martin O’Neill, with Celtic also set to speak with the double-winning manager about staying on for another season.
Celtic do not want to be left going back to the drawing board, which is the reason Keane remains firmly in the mix.
The backroom team Keane has proposed would include Stephen Glass, Scott Brown, and Jonny Hayes.
Former Aberdeen boss Glass served as Keane’s No.2 at Ferencvaros, with the pair departing their roles together last summer.
Glass is considered the key connector within the proposed support staff, having maintained strong ties with Brown after convincing the ex-Hoops captain to leave Celtic and join him at Aberdeen as a player-coach.
Keane briefly played alongside Brown at Celtic Park in 2010, while Hayes also played under Glass at Aberdeen and currently serves as a Celtic B team coach.
Brown and Hayes recently visited Keane and Glass in Budapest as part of their UEFA Pro Licence commitments last season.
Keane has managed ATK in India, won the title in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and claimed the cup in Hungary with Ferencvaros, building a varied managerial record across multiple countries.
Talks between Keane, O’Neill, and Celtic were scheduled for last week but were pushed back, with the board facing pressure after the disastrous appointment of Wilfried Nancy last season.
O’Neill, 74, had been placed in charge on either side of Nancy’s appointment, and Celtic would not have won the title on the final day without his intervention.
The veteran boss was assisted by Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham, with Record Sport revealing last week that Maloney is being considered for a sporting director or director of football role.
Maloney would prefer to move upstairs, and if O’Neill were to extend his stay, he would be keen to retain Fotheringham, while potentially bringing in another coach to fill any gap.
O’Neill, who has won nine trophies across two major spells as Celtic boss, remains the fans’ favourite, though a swell of discontent has emerged regarding Keane’s previous spell managing in Israel.
The Celtic board must now decide whether to pursue a short-term or longer-term appointment, with the recruitment team already shortlisting transfer targets that won’t be acted upon until a new manager is confirmed.
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