Gavin Strachan is poised to leave celtic f.c. for West Brom after an approach was made, leaving Martin O’Neill with another coaching change to manage as pre-season work builds at Lennoxtown. Strachan joined the Celtic backroom staff in 2020, and the move would remove one of the club’s long-serving first-team coaches.
West Brom Targets Strachan
West Brom boss James Morrison has targeted Strachan, and the coach is now expected to head for the Baggies. That gives Celtic a fresh staffing issue at the same point they are trying to settle the rest of their first-team setup.
Martin O’Neill has already signed a 12-month deal with the option for a further year. His arrival did not end the uncertainty around the wider coaching group, because Celtic are still in talks with Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham.
Maloney and Fotheringham Talks
Those negotiations have been dragging on. Celtic offered both men wage cuts from the deals they were on last season, and no agreement has yet been reached.
O’Neill wants both coaches to remain on board. That leaves the club trying to keep continuity in place while one assistant is being pulled toward West Brom and two others are still weighing their own futures.
Lennoxtown Pre-Season Return
Some members of the first-team squad are due back for pre-season at the end of next week, with Celtic’s non-international players reporting first to Lennoxtown. The timing makes the staffing picture more immediate, not less.
Celtic also have pre-season trips to Ireland and Portugal arranged, and they will face AC Milan at Parkhead in a pre-season friendly. For now, though, the most pressing change is Strachan’s expected exit and the effect it could have on a coaching group already under strain.
