Interim Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has had a brilliant start to his return to Parkhead with two wins in his first two matches in the dugout.
He masterminded a 4-0 win over Falkirk in his first game back, despite the Hoops having lost their last two matches in the Scottish Premiership prior to that outing.
The experienced manager then led his team to the final of the League Cup with a 3-1 win over Rangers, after extra time, at Hampden Park on Sunday.
However, it remains to be seen whether or not O’Neill will still be in the dugout when that final rolls around, as the Hoops are still looking for their permanent successor to Brendan Rodgers.
The former Celtic manager tendered his resignation at the start of last week, after a 3-1 loss to Hearts, but the club do not seem particularly close to making an appointment at this moment in time.
As part of their process to find their next manager, the Scottish giants should be looking for someone who has a better record of competing in Europe.
Why Celtic need an upgrade on Brendan Rodgers in Europe
There is no doubt that Rodgers was excellent for the Hoops on the whole when it came to competing domestically, as he won four trophies in his two full seasons back at Parkhead.
The former Liverpool and Leicester City head coach won the Premiership title in both of those campaigns, although he did leave the club eight points adrift of Hearts last week.
However, Rodgers struggled in Europe throughout both of his spells in charge of Celtic, in both the Champions League and the Europa League.
The Hoops reached the play-off round, just before the last 16, in the Champions League last season, only to lose to Bayern Munich, after the change in format to a league phase.
That is the furthest that any of Rodgers’ Celtic teams managed to go in any European competition across six seasons at the club, though, as they never reached as much as a quarter-final.
25/26
Intermediate stage
Group stage
24/25
Group stage
N/A
23/24
Group stage
N/A
18/19
N/A
Intermediate stage
17/18
Group stage
Intermediate stage
16/17
Group stage
N/A
The Northern Irish manager has won six and lost 18 of his 36 matches in the Champions League as a manager, which includes one win in six games at Liverpool, per Transfermarkt.
These statistics show that Rodgers has struggled in European competitions throughout his career, which is why he may not have been the right man to push Celtic forward in the Champions League or the Europa League.
It is also why the Hoops board should be looking for a head coach who has the potential to help the club to kick on in Europe, in order to compete for trophies on the continent as well as in Scotland.
Plenty of managers have already been linked with replacing Rodgers in the dugout at Parkhead, but there is one in particular who could be a key upgrade on Rodgers.
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It was recently reported that the Scottish giants have approached Club Brugge head coach Nicky Hayen as they look to establish a shortlist of options for the role.
The report claimed that the Hoops will look to use the lure of big wages to tempt him to make the move from the Belgian club, but it remains to be seen whether or not that will be a successful approach.
Why Celtic should appoint Nicky Hayen
Celtic should push to bring Hayen to Parkhead to be the long-term replacement for Rodgers because his success at Club Brugge, domestically and in Europe, has been very impressive.
The Belgian boss, who typically deploys a 4-2-3-1 formation, won the Pro League as an interim manager at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, before finishing second to USG by three points last term, per Transfermarkt.
Hayen won the Belgian Cup last season, though, and the Belgian Super Cup at the start of the current campaign, which means that he has won three trophies in roughly 18 months as the interim and permanent manager.
The Celtic target’s biggest selling point as a manager, however, should be his side’s impressive performance in Europe, as he reached the last 16 of the Champions League in the 2024/25 campaign, which is further than Rodgers after took the club.
Matches
4
15
Wins
2
6
Draws
1
2
Losses
1
7
Points per game
1.75
1.33
Best finish
Semi-finals
Last 16
As you can see in the table above, Hayen also reached the semi-finals of the Conference League in the 2023/24 campaign, winning in the quarter-finals before losing the semi to Fiorentina.
The Club Brugge boss, who was hailed as a “workaholic” by his former chairman Rob Edwards, has won as many Champions League games in 15 matches and 18 months as their manager as Rodgers has in his entire career, with 36 games under his belt.
This suggests that he would arrive at Parkhead as an upgrade on the Northern Irish head coach when it comes to competing on the European stage with the Hoops, as he has achieved more in less than two seasons than Rodgers managed in over four seasons with the Bhoys.
Hayen, who was described as “tactically unbeatable” by one scout on X, has shown that he can compete domestically, with trophies in Belgium with Brugge, as well as on the European stage.
That is why the 4-2-3-1 manager could be a perfect fit for Celtic as an upgrade on Rodgers to help them kick on in Europe this season and in the future.
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On top of his success in the Conference League and Champions League, Hayen has also won all four of his Champions League qualifiers, which is noteworthy after Celtic lost to Kairat in the play-off round this season.