There was some worry that Lennon lacked the necessary experience to take on such a big challenge but he has employed some experienced names in back room staff to help him along the way, the stand out appointment is that of Stuart Baxter in an advisory role, he is will be taking on that role whilst retaining his position as Head Coach of the Finland National team. That appointment is thought to be a direct response to the board’s worry of the experience of Lennon and he will be on hand to help out the new Gaffer where needed, however Lennon proved last season that he has the skills to do the job to a high standard. He led Celtic to a good end to the season in the SPL despite not getting close to Rangers at the top of the table, he took charge of the club with the team 13 points adrift of their big rivals and ended the season just six points behind the League Champions.

Lennon has his new back room staff will be under pressure from the off next season with Champions League qualifiers to deal with before attempting to overhaul Rangers as the top team in Scotland, the SPL title has gone to Ibrox for the past two years and the Celtic fans will not want to complement another season in the shadow of their biggest rival from across Town. Lennon will know that he must get off to a flying start in his first full season in charge with a good brand of football the order of the day, attendances at Celtic Park were worryingly low during last season and only a winning team will attract the crowds back to Parkhead.

The worry about Lennon from Celtic fans was his lack of experience in Management but he is popular from his playing days at Celtic Park and should get the backing from the faithful. Celtic fans will be desperate to overturn Rangers in the League next season after losing out to their great rivals for the past two season’s, Walter Smith and Rangers had wrapped up the title with several games to go this season which for a club like Celtic was and is unacceptable. Since Lennon took over at Celtic he managed to close the gap on Rangers to just six points, it should be enough to secure him the job for next season and SkyBet certainly agree with that assumption.

Lennon is the hot favourite in the latest betting for the Next Celtic Manager and it is hard to see the board overlooking the former Leicester man, it is also understood that the board at Celtic are hoping to clear up the issue as soon as possible. The only other viable name on the list appears to be Billy Davies of Notts Forest who could be after a return to his homeland despite playing for Rangers in his younger days, with Forest now out of the Play-Offs it may be that Davies would consider a move to Celtic. Having said that, it is hard to imagine Neil Lennon not being given the chance to follow up his fine run of form of the past couple of months and the Sack race understands he could be appointed within the next few days.

Next Celtic Manager Odds with SkyBet – 17/05/2010

N Lennon – Evens
C Levein – 6/4
B Davies – 5/1
M Hughes – 6/1
G Trapattoni – 9/1
P Lambert – 14/1
A Pardew – 16/1
M Jimenez – 16/1
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All markets supplied by SkyBet.com

Should Forest get promoted to the Premier League then Davies is though to be worried about the transfer budget he would be given, he knows the team will need a big upgrade but the Forest board are unlikely to want to spend the excessive amounts needed. Davies is known as a feisty character and his record shows that he does not hang around at one club for too long meaning he may be ready to move on from Forest, this is despite turning the club around from a relegation club to a promotion chasing team in little more than a year. At the moment it is still Neil Lennon who is the favourite to become the new man on a permanent basis, Lennon has been in caretaker charge since Tony Mowbray was sacked and has made it clear that he is eager to take the role on a permanent basis.

Davies would be seen as a more experienced man for the job and a good alternative to Lennon should the board decide to go that way, he has led Derby to the Premier League in the past and now has the chance to do the same with Nottingham Forest through the play-offs. At this stage it is unclear how the Celtic fans would react to a former Rangers Player as their Manager but it is bound to be a difficult time for Davies if he decides to head to Celtic Park. He would quickly be forgiven though if he could get the team back to winning ways, the League title would be the order of the day after losing out to Rangers for the past two season’s.

Lennon is still clearly the front runner for the job and if he can finish the season well then it will be hard for the board not to recognize that, however Davies looks like being the best alternative as he has good experience down in England and looks ready to head back north of the border.

Next Permanent Celtic Manager Odds with SkyBet.com as of 21/04/2010

N Lennon 7/4
B Davies 5/2
M Hughes 7/1
A Pardew 8/1
A Curbishley 9/1
P Lambert 10/1
W McStay 12/1
C Levein 12/1
R Aitken 16/1
M Jimenez 16/1
D McInnes 20/1
R Keane 20/1
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All odds are supplied by SkyBet

Lennon is a popular man amongst the fans at Celtic Park and he will be welcomed into the job over the next couple of months, this will be his first Managerial role though and there are some who believe that Celtic need an experienced hand to steady the sinking ship. Tony Mowbray tried to change the style of play at the club and failed so Lennon will need to deliver one thing and one thing only and that is wins, the side are lacking confidence and that will only come back gradually with some results on the pitch.

If he can galvanise the team over the next couple of months then he is sure to be in the pole position to take the job on a permanent basis in the Summer, likewise if things continue to slip then the board and fans will be calling on a more experienced Manager to take the reigns. Paul Lambert is one name that continues to be linked with the job with the bookmakers, the former Celtic player is now the Manager of Norwich who are flying high in League One at the moment and heading to the Championship. Other names being linked with the permanent job at Parkhead are Mark McGhee who has seen his stock rise in the past couple of years and John Hughes who has been doing a good job at Hibernian for some time now.

Next Celtic Manager Odds With Skybet.com as of 25/03/2010 – Subject to change

N Lennon – 11/8
Paul Lambert – 5/1
Mark Hughes – 6/1
W McStay – 8/1
J Hughes – 9/1
Slaven Bilic – 10/1
Roy Keane – 16/1
John Collins – 16/1
Roy Aitken – 16/1
Derek McInnes – 20/1
Mark McGhee – 20/1
L Moravcik – 25/1
David O’Leary – 25/1
Henrik Larsson – 33/1
Other names on request

Odds supplied by Skybet.com

Next Celtic Manager Odds

Celtic’s season slumped to a new low last night when they were crushed by St Mirren 4-0 leaving Tony Mowbray under increasing pressure at Celtic Park, the team now lie ten points behind Rangers having played two games more to the disgust of the fans. Mowbray joined Celtic in the Summer after having a successful spell at West Brom but things have not worked out for him and he may find himself out of a job come the end of the season if results continue to disappoint. It has been a tough season for Mowbray with the team slipping out of Europe at an early stage and things have been made worse by their performances in the SPL which have handed the title to bitter rivals Rangers for the second consecutive season.

Mowbray took the 4-0 defeat to St Mirren on the chin by saying the club will move onto the next game but he knows that Celtic fans will not accept a result like that for too much longer, they are a club that is used to success and trophies and at the moment they are not performing anywhere near the level they need to be to keep Mowbray in the job. The Sack Race understands that Mowbray’s position will be reviewed at the end of the season so only a strong finish to the campaign may be enough for the board to give him a second season, the side are into the Scottish Cup Semi-Final and a win in that tournament now looks essential for Mowbray.

Celtic fans are growing increasingly agitated with the team’s performances of late and Mowbray knows that any Celtic Manager is measured against how they compare against Rangers, at the moment their fierce rivals Rangers are clearly the superior side. The last Old Firm Derby saw Rangers take a 1-0 win at Ibrox to all but end the Scottish Premier League title race with a couple of months of the season to go and that is unacceptable for a club like Celtic. Tony Mowbray could well find himself back in the job centre in the Summer if results do not pick up and he can convince the board and fans that the club are moving in the right direction. At this stage though the bookmakers are worried for hus future following the St Mirren defeat and he is now odds-on with Skybet to be gone before the end of the season.

Odds supplied by Skybet.com

Next Celtic Manager Odds With Skybet.com as of 25/03/2010 – Subject to change

N Lennon – 11/8
Paul Lambert – 5/1
Mark Hughes – 6/1
W McStay – 8/1
J Hughes – 9/1
Slaven Bilic – 10/1
Roy Keane – 16/1
John Collins – 16/1
Roy Aitken – 16/1
Derek McInnes – 20/1
Mark McGhee – 20/1
L Moravcik – 25/1
David O’Leary – 25/1
Henrik Larsson – 33/1
Other names on request

Next Celtic Manager Odds

The past few weeks have seen things go from bad to worse for Tony Mowbray and Celtic as they have failed to close the ten point gap that has opened up at the top of the Scottish Premier League, the club have looked decidedly shaky in recent weeks and are not looking like catching rivals Rangers anytime soon. Mowbray joined Celtic from West Brom in the Summer aiming to bring the SPL crown back to Celtic Park this season after Rangers picked up the title last term, however things have not worked out so far for Mowbray and he is beginning to come under increasing pressure with some fans starting to question his position.

The latest poor result came at the weekend when they could only manage a 4-4 draw with Aberdeen despite leading by two goals with just 15 minutes left, the defence is a particular worry for Mowbray who knows they will need to learn to keep the back door shut if they are to starting closing in on Rangers. Robbie Keane came in on transfer deadline day in a deal that Mowbray would help turn things around but he didn’t account for the defensive problems now facing the team. The crucial match is the Old Firm tie with Rangers at Ibrox at the end of the month, a win there could see the season turn around while a defeat would be unthinkable for both Tony Mowbray and the fans who are hungry for more silverware.

There has been more bad news out of Parkhead this week off the pitch as the club announced a huge drop in turnover, over the last six months of 2009 the clubs turnover was down a massive 22.8% with the failure in the Champions League cited as the main contributing factor. Mowbray knows the importance of taking Celtic into the Champions League group stages next season if he is to realise his dream of turning Celtic into a force on the European scene which seems a long way off at the moment.

Mowbray knows only too well that any Celtic Manager is judged against his success against Rangers in the domestic cup competitions as well as the Scottish Premier League, the Celtic faithful would be expecting their team to be at least on a par with their Glasgow rivals but at this moment in time they look a team short on confidence. It was a bust transfer deadline day for Mowbray as he tried to resurrect their season by bringing in the likes of Diomansy Kamara from Fulham and the marquee loan signing of Robbie Keane. Keane is a huge signing for Celtic and Scottish Football but he will need to produce the goods for Mowbray who has stuck his neck on the line for the Spurs player who is reportedly the highest paid player in Scottish Football history.

One bookmaker has opened up a market on whether or not Mowbray will last the season at Celtic Park and although at this stage Sky Bet are backing him to remain in the hot seat they are by no means certain at this stage, punters can currently get odds of 7/4 that Mowbray will not make it to the end of the SPL season. Those odds reflect the recent poor run at Celtic and the Mowbray will no that the upcoming fixtures could be crucial for his future at the club, the club have three games in a week coming up with away games against Aberdeen and Dunfirmline sandwiched by a game at home against Hearts. The under fire Manager will be hoping that his Celtic team are a few points closer to Rangers at the end of the week than they are now otherwise the speculation will increase with Celtic supporters growing inpatient.