Football Jun 04, 2026

Celtic manager latest: Talks held with Robbie Keane with Martin O'Neill to be spoken to in next 24 hours

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Celtic manager latest: Talks held with Robbie Keane with Martin O'Neill to be spoken to in next 24 hours

Celtic have held constructive talks with Robbie Keane over their managerial vacancy.

Your Site News understands further discussions are scheduled to take place this week.

Principal shareholder Dermot Desmond is due to speak with interim boss Martin O'Neill in the next 24 hours to establish his appetite for remaining at the club in some capacity.

As Your Site News revealed on Monday, if O'Neill wants to remain as manager, the club are open to discussing a short-term contract.

But, if O'Neill does not want the job permanently, they'll enter discussions about a possible position in the football operations side, or an advisory and consultancy role.

Keane, who left Ferencvaros last month, is believed to want to bring in Stephen Glass, Scott Brown and Jonny Hayes as his backroom staff - if he were to be given the job.

Another target Celtic would still like to speak to is Wales boss Craig Bellamy.

The former Celtic forward reiterated his commitment to Wales in a press conference on Monday, but the Hoops could still test his resolve in the coming days.

O'Neill returned to the club in two spells last term - delivering a dramatic domestic double in the last week of the season.

If the 74-year-old wishes to remove himself as a candidate for the managerial position, then Celtic will begin a recruitment process to appoint their next boss with a number of potential candidates already being sounded out.

Keane, who is a former Celtic striker, is a free agent now, having resigned from his job at Ferencvaros.

As a manager Keane has won the Israeli Premier League and Toto Cup with Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2024, before winning the Hungarian title at Ferencvaros in 2025. He missed out on retaining the title last season, but won the Magyar Kupa before leaving Budapest.

Your Site News revealed in October last year that Bellamy had been identified as a managerial target, when Brendan Rodgers resigned.

The Hoops have admired his work as manager of Wales. At the time, Bellamy ruled out any move to lead his country through the World Cup play-offs in March where they agonisingly lost out on penalties to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

At a press conference on Monday Bellamy reiterated his commitment to Wales and is preparing to be leading them to Euro 2028 despite interest from several clubs, including Burnley.

The former Celtic forward says he is "happy" with the job. That is very important for him and he believes he is still learning as a manager.

Interest in Bellamy has, so far, not developed further as he has been clear about his immediate future.

Roberto Martinez is another name who has been linked with the job - and the Portugal boss has to be seen as more of an outsider due to this summer's World Cup.

Celtic would ideally like to have a manager in time for pre-season, which may not be possible with Martinez.

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