It’s just conceivable that the most dramatic episode which Celtic Park will witness before the turn of the year will come without a ball even being kicked.
The club’s annual general meeting rarely passes off without incident. When shareholders and directors file into the Kerrydale Street on Friday week, daggers will be drawn.
Where once the men in suits answered questions about the functionality of the club by pointing to the silverware in the room, on this occasion their detractors can cite the current standings in the Premiership and Europa League tables.
Like the Celtic’s recent dealings in the transfer market, they do not make for good reading.
Those hoping to grill Dermot Desmond on the matter should prepare for disappointment. Celtic’s largest shareholder tends to be otherwise occupied on these occasions, with his son and fellow director Ross representing him.
While most faces of those on the top table will need no introduction, the occupant of one seat is a source of intrigue. If not Martin O’Neill, just who will be sat where Brendan Rodgers was at last year’s gathering?
Celtic aren’t looking to recruit a new manager to change the news cycle. But there’s no doubt that the agenda and the tone of the meeting will be different if the permanent successor to Rodgers is by then in place.
With the Celtic board in London for talks this week with prospective candidates, that could indeed be the case.
And even Desmond’s most zealous critic would have to acknowledge one thing; When it comes down to appointing a football manager, he’s got far more right than wrong down the years.
Starting with entrusting O’Neill ahead of Guus Hiddink in 2000, Desmond’s strike rate is pretty impressive.
You may argue with the influence a minority shareholder wields when it comes to making the biggest call of all. You can’t argue with 19 Scottish titles being won in 25 years by men whose causes he championed.
He can only hope that this happy habit of picking winners continues. Celtic are not in a good place right now and the natives are restless. Nothing changes the mood quite like winning football matches.
Desmond has previously benefited from matters of convenience. Neil Lennon, Rodgers and O’Neill happened to be available to return to the post after previous successes when the vacancy arose at short notice. In each case, there appeared to be no desire on the powerbroker’s behalf to look elsewhere.
This one feels different. There’s no obvious tried and tested candidate waiting in the wings.
Desmond is now in the situation he was before he settled on Gordon Strachan, Ronny Deila and Ange Postecoglou.
The difference is that his influence on a wide range of matters has seen his credit rating plummet in the eyes of many supporters.
There’s already a sense of mutiny in the air. Desmond badly needs to pull another rabbit out of the hat if that’s to be quelled.
You don’t need the deductive powers of Hercule Poirot to see why the names of Robbie Keane and Kieran McKenna feature on every bookmaker’s shortlist.
Desmond likes appointing fellow Irishman. Three of the seven men to have held the Celtic post since he started calling the shots hail from the Emerald Isle.
The early indications are that Keane, who briefly played with Celtic on loan in 2010, might well be a manager of substance. He won the Hungarian title with Ferencvaros last year having guided Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Israeli championship the previous season.
While injury prevented McKenna from following in Keane’s footsteps at Tottenham, he boasts vast experience of managing in English football.
Having worked his way up through the coaching ranks at Spurs then Manchester United, he became an assistant coach at Old Trafford prior to taking over at Ipswich in 2021.
Successive promotions took the Portman Road side from League One to the Premiership and ensured McKenna’s name was on the lips of every chairman in the land. If it wasn’t for the £5million in compensation Celtic would be required to pay, the 39-year-old would feel like a shoo-in.
Despite never having previously managed outwith Norway, Kjetil Knutsen’s name needs no introduction.
The 57-year-old has been wedded to Bodo/Glimt as manager or assistant since 2017.
Currently in pursuit of his fifth title in six years as the Eliteserien comes down to the crunch, Knutsen will soon be out of contract.
Is he truly the managerial genius many believe him to be? Or has he just been the perfect fit for a club playing in an outpost north of the Arctic Circle? The truth is that no one can yet be sure.
One of the reasons why Knutsen will not be short on offers from clubs is his side’s results in Europe.
In his time in charge, little Bodo/Glimt have taken the scalps of Roma, Porto, Lazio and Celtic among others.
They became the first Norwegian side to reach a European semi-final last year when they lost out to Tottenham in the last four of the Europa League. They beat Sturm Graz this year it make it to the Champions League group stage for the first time.
For a man who hasn’t managed outside of Norway, Knutsen has certainly created shockwaves across the continent.
That’s why the name of Wilfried Nancy as a serious contender in this race has raised more than a few eyebrows.
The 48-year-old didn’t leave France during a player career which was largely spent with various semi-professional sides in the lower divisions.
Having moved to Quebec in 2005 to play for a university side, he became a coach, steadily moving up from amateur level to CF Montreal’s academy and then onto the first team.
He was given the main gig following Thierry Henry’s resignation in 2021 and soon led the Canadian side to the championship.
Nancy moved to fellow MLS side Columbus Crew in time for the 2023 season, won the MLS Cup that year and the Leagues Cup in 2024 as well as the Coach of the Year Award.
All very commendable. But he’s not yet managed outside of North America. So why Celtic and why now?
The personal connection comes through his assistant, Kwame Ampadu, who worked with the Parkhead club’s director of football operations, Paul Tisdale, while at Exeter City.
With his side having just gone out of the play-offs, he’s available as soon as Celtic can agree compensation.
Nancy’s ability to get is sides playing fast, front-foot football is another attraction. He doesn’t boast quite the CV which Postecoglou had when he was unveiled in 2021 (titles in Australia and Japan) but there are similarities in their respective philosophies.
Coming in after the Eddie Howe trail had gone cold, Big Ange proved to be an inspired choice, restoring unity to a club which had become fractured.
Whoever his gut instinct lead him towards, Desmond could do with history repeating itself.
