There are ongoing machinations behind the scenes at Celtic as we head towards the summer and two key vacancies are set to be filled from a four-man shortlist.
Brendan Rodgers recently spoke about his desire to have a more functional pathway from the Celtic Academy to the first team – part of his long-term ambitions for the Bhoys.
The first sign of this came earlier in the month when Darren O’Dea was announced as taking up a new role within the club.
O’Dea has moved up from the Celtic B team and is now the Professional Player Pathway Manager, reporting to the Head of Academy and working with Rodgers to better prepare young prospects for first-team action.
That’s opened up a coaching role with the B side. It was also recently reported that Charlie Mulgrew and Jonny Hayes are being considered to become the club’s U18s manager.
Adam Ashgar also being considered by Celtic
Celtic now have a four-man shortlist to fill both positions. It’s reported by The Daily Record that joining Mulgrew and Hayes on that shortlist is Southampton U21s coach Adam Ashgar.
Ashgar was previously the academy head coach at Dundee United. In 2022 he was appointed as Sunderland’s U18s lead coach and is now in charge of the U21s at fellow Championship side Southampton.
The report states that an unknown internal candidate is also in the running for one of the open posts.
Celtic hunt for more staff additions
The exits of Mark Lawwell and Joe Dudgeon from first-team recruitment and scouting roles earlier this year means there’s more work for Celtic to do beyond these youth appointments.
Celtic have to get the right team in place to deliver in the upcoming summer transfer window. The Bhoys are expected to have significant resources and several positions in the team need strengthening or at least require more depth.
It’s crucial that Rodgers has the support to deliver on his big targets.
