As we move into a ninth week without a permanent manager for Celtic, those at Parkhead should be beginning to panic.

The Bhoys have been battered and bruised this season and now they’re being left rather embarrassed in their search for a new head coach too.

What’s the word?

Over the course of the last seven days, Eddie Howe has discovered he may well have some competition on his hands to become the new manager.

Howe has been in advanced discussions with the Celtic board but now Roy Keane is back in the hunt and Jose Mourinho has also reportedly been contacted.

However, despite that, the Hoops are no closer to announcing a new manager. In fact, they’re still pretty much where they started when Neil Lennon first resigned back in February.

That’s the word of Frank McAvennie who revealed what his sources had told him over the weekend.

Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “The more we go on, the more people are getting annoyed, it’s too long to appoint a manager. I’m not happy with it but that’s Celtic, we shouldn’t expect anything else from them.

“It’s same old Celtic. I just hope there will be something coming out that I don’t know about but, from what I’m told, there’s nothing close at the moment.”

Get a move on

Supporters will have every right to be enraged by what’s going on at the moment, especially as they now have to see the campaign through without a single trophy to celebrate.

John Kennedy was made interim manager when Lennon resigned but he’s not been able to reinvigorate and breathe fresh life into the Hoops over the last few months.

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He’s only lost just one game in charge but the performances have lacked inspiration and cutting edge, something we saw in the 2-0 defeat to Rangers.

Had Dermot Desmond already appointed a new manager then perhaps they’d still be in the competition? After all, the defensive mistakes that plagued Lennon’s final few months in Glasgow were rife during that defeat.

The longer the wait goes on, the more troublesome Celtic’s summer could become too.

They have a number of issues relating to the playing staff to sort out with the likes of Odsonne Edouard, Kristoffer Ajer, Ryan Christie, Tom Rogic and Olivier Ntcham pondering moves away.

That’s without forgetting the number of loanees that will have to return and the fact that Scott Brown is moving on too.

Without a manager, this process can’t be streamlined and recruitment may be put on hold. Celtic are in a mess that Desmond needs to correct quickly. They cannot wait much longer than they already are.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Ajer: Celtic must unleash rarely-seen "weapon" next term, he's clear of Duffy...