Italian assistant manager Enzo Maresca is now the frontrunner for the vacant Celtic job but this appointment will have plenty of Rangers fans thinking of former Ibrox flop.
According to the Scottish Sun, former Juve and Sevilla midfielder Maresca is now the favourite for the Celtic job as candidates continue to be considered for the vacant position.
An ex-midfielder who has spent time as Manuel Pellegrini’s assistant at West Ham United and Manchester City’s youth set-up, this would represent a left-of-field appointment by our rivals.
Couple all of this with the fact Maresca refused to be drawn on the speculation and it has plenty thinking that there are genuine legs to the story [Sunday Post].
But if the Parkhead club does opt to move for Maresca it has shades of the desperate Pedro Caixinha appointment made by Rangers in 2017.
The Ibrox club went left-of-field for a European manager after Mark Warburton was sacked and it backfired spectacularly.
The Portuguese manager’s C.V. might not boast the likes of Man City or Sevilla but Pedro was apparently a highly-rated coach with plenty to prove when we signed him.
What Pedro quickly found out was that he underestimated both the size and pressure of the role, as did many of the players which the ex-Gers boss signed for the club.
Pedro was a mightily expensive flop with his methods, training, and vision never ever running parallel to the expectations at Ibrox. Not only that but he failed to understand the idiosyncrasies of the Scottish league – something which is vital to be successful here.
Should Celtic take a similar route with the appointment of Maresca, it has shades of Rangers’ situation and represent a roll of the dice on a left-of-field move.
In fact, if they do employ Maresca then the chances increase of my prediction that Steven Gerrard will see off the next two Celtic managers coming true.
