The deed is finally done; Neil Lennon is no longer in charge of Celtic. It’s felt like a long time coming and truth be told, it’s too little too late.
The Hoops are considerably off the pace in the Scottish Premiership and are on the verge of surrendering their grasp of the title for the first time in a decade. Their fierce rivals now only need just seven points to wrap things up.
Lennon admitted that he would never walk away but following their 1-0 defeat to Ross County, he has taken the easy way out and left Parkhead behind. Supporters have had little to celebrate this season but this is a moment of great solace.
So who will replace him? Well, one man could be Aston Villa’s assistant manager John Terry. Kevin Campbell recently talked up his chances of a move to Glasgow, suggesting the former defender would have to be an instant success.
He told Football Insider: “You’re looking at both clubs and this is obviously Steven Gerrard’s third season there. If either of these guys, Terry or Lampard, come in, you’re looking at them hitting the ground running.”
Terry is yet to take charge of a club as a number one and thus, it would represent quite the gamble from Dermot Desmond to appoint him. That’s especially when you consider the huge rebuild that any new manager will have to undertake.
That being said, the 40-year-old could help to improve Celtic’s biggest problem this season. Defensively, the Hoops have been shambolic and that’s one of the primary reasons behind their downfall.
They shipped 19 goals in six Europa League outings and have conceded 14 more strikes than Rangers in the league. Though, if we consider Terry’s defensive influence, he could completely reshape the Celtic backline.
Of course, he is one of the best defenders to grace the English Premier League, but his defensive coaching has earned fine praise from those at Villa.
Since he arrived as Dean Smith’s assistant, the club have won promotion to the top-flight and are now in with an outside chance of securing European football for next season. Terry’s coaching is one of the biggest reasons, ensuring the likes of Tyrone Mings, Matty Cash and Matt Targett take their games to the next level.
Targett admitted there is no one better to learn from last week in an interview with The Times, hailing personal Zoom calls with Terry over lockdown for why he’s improved so much from a defensive point of view.
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Words from Tyrone Mings also make for encouraging reading: “He's somebody that's been there, done it and seen everything there is to see. He's the perfect person for me to learn from and he's really helped me in the short amount of time we've worked together,” the defender once said.
Mings continued: "He sets high standards and small things, which I wouldn't even think of, he picks up on."
The centre-back was a Championship level defender a few years ago but now he’s a key component of Gareth Southgate’s England side. Much of that can be attributed to the work done behind the scenes with the Chelsea legend.
It’s evident how Terry would have an impact on this Celtic side.