Back in January, Celtic appointed Martin O’Neill as their manager after parting ways with Wilfried Nancy. The current manager will only be in charge at Celtic Park until the end of this season.
Last October, Brendan Rodgers stepped down from his role at Celtic and O’Neill took over as the interim manager.
His short spell came to an end when Celtic appointed Nancy in December. The Scottish club lost six of their eight matches under the Frenchman, forcing them to part ways with him in January.
Nancy’s exit saw Celtic reappoint O’Neill for the remainder of the season. This means the Bhoys have to look for a new permanent manager for next season.
As things stand, Celtic haven’t made an appointment yet but have already looked at a few candidates, including Bodø/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen.
Firm interest from Celtic
TV2 in Norway have published a detailed interview with Kjetil Knutsen to discuss several topics.
Both Celtic and RC Strasbourg showed concrete interest in the 57-year-old towards the end of last year.
Norwich City showed interest in Bodø/Glimt star Kasper Høgh in the winter market. Back in January, Sport Witness relayed news that the manager blocked his exit.
This paid off as Høgh starred for his side, especially in the Champions League, defeating Manchester City, Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan this year. Sporting stopped them from making it to the quarterfinals by overcoming a 3-0 first leg deficit.
After Celtic and Strasbourg showed serious interest, TV2 insist unnamed clubs with ‘higher calibre’ are also showing interest in the manager.
Responding to that, he said: “When a team does well, there will always be interest around it. You have to learn to handle and live with that.
“At the same time, it emphasises how good we are at Glimt. It is inspiring to see that we can be competitive when we are at our best against a team that maintains a very high level.”
Blow for Celtic and other clubs
Kjetil Knutsen hasn’t revealed the clubs that have submitted offers. However, he remains committed to his current employer.
“For me, it will be very easy. I have committed to Bodø/Glimt and then I am 100% in Glimt. All other interests are completely uninteresting to me. We are in the middle of a season, and everything other than Glimt that I spend time on takes away concentration and focus,” Knutsen explained.
“There are also an incredible number of exciting and interesting jobs outside Bodø. Just not to glorify Glimt too much – there are interesting opportunities elsewhere too. But right now, my focus is very much on Glimt and nothing else.”
When asked if a fear of failure or something else is holding him back to move outside Norway, he added: “No, it’s not about that. As for the players, every choice you make in your career is important to think through, and it is crucial that they are right for you.”
His latest comments would make it difficult for Celtic or another club to sign him after this season.
Manager’s stats for Bodø/Glimt
Kjetil Knutsen initially joined the Norwegian club as an assistant in 2017 before getting promoted as the head coach a year later.
He has been in charge since then and managed 364 matches, winning 219 and losing 72 of them. In these matches, Bodø/Glimt scored 873 goals and conceded 427.
