Celtic booked their place in the final of the League Cup on Sunday after they beat their Glasgow rivals 3-1 after extra time at Hampden Park.
Martin O’Neill was in the dugout for the second time as he continues to manage the side until the club can find a permanent replacement for Brendan Rodgers, who resigned last week.
The Northern Irish head coach moved on from Parkhead after winning four trophies in just over two seasons in his second spell with the Scottish Premiership giants.
Rodgers decided to tender his resignation after successive league losses to Dundee and Hearts, which left Celtic eight points adrift of first place in the league at the time.
It is hard to deny that the former Leicester City boss had a successful return to Parkhead on the whole, given that he won four trophies in two full seasons, but it was far from a perfect spell.
In fact, there are several players within the current first-team squad, and possibly out on loan, who may benefit from his departure from Celtic.
The players who may benefit most from Rodgers leaving Celtic
Luis Palma and Maik Nawrocki were both sent out on loan this summer, having been signed in Rodgers’ first transfer window in the summer of 2023, after rarely featuring last season.
The duo combined for four starts in the Premiership in the 2024/25 campaign, per WhoScored, and may wonder if they now have a future at Parkhead when they return from their loan moves.
Palma, for example, has four goals and three assists in ten league games for Lech Poznan on loan, per Sofascore, and could provide Celtic’s attack with an injection of quality next year.
Meanwhile, in the current squad, Paulo Bernardo is one player who may benefit from a clean slate under the next head coach, after falling out of favour under Rodgers.
Appearances
28
2
Starts
13
1
Goals
2
0
Big chances created
5
0
Key passes
31
0
Ground duel success rate
58%
33%
Aerial duel success rate
54%
0%
As you can see in the table above, the Portugal U21 international has barely featured after showing promise last term, which is why the change in management may benefit him.
The Celtic player who has benefitted the most from Rodgers’ departure, though, appears to be Callum Osmand, who did not play a single minute under the Northern Irishman.
O’Neill has brought him off the bench in the last two games, against Falkirk and Rangers, and he scored his first goal for the club in the League Cup semi-final.
The 19-year-old centre-forward may also be pleased to hear who the Scottish giants are looking to appoint, as they are keen on a boss who could be perfect for him.
Celtic considering move for £5m manager
According to Football Insider, Celtic are considering a move to appoint Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna as their replacement for Rodgers.
The report claims that the Northern Irish head coach has emerged as one of the club’s key targets, alongside the likes of Kjetil Knutsen and Craig Bellamy.
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However, he has a £5m release clause in his contract with the Tractor Boys, which has left the Hoops to consider their options for now.
Speaking to Football Insider about the prospect of Celtic landing McKenna, reporter Pete O’Rourke said: “He is one of the most highly regarded young managers in the country as well.
“He would fit all of the criteria that Celtic are looking for in that respect. It’d be a huge coup if Celtic were to land Kieran McKenna.”
Why Kieran McKenna would be perfect for Callum Osmand
Swooping for the Ipswich manager to replace Rodgers in the coming days or weeks could be great news for emerging Celtic star Osmand, for several reasons.
McKenna has an impressive history in youth coaching. Per Transfermarkt, he worked as a youth coach for Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur before stepping into first-team management with the Tractor Boys.
This suggests that he wants to develop and work with young players, which is great news for a 19-year-old prospect like Osmand, who could be identified as a player with big potential by the boss.
As you can see in the clip above, Osmand grabbed his first senior goal for the Hoops on Sunday with brilliant movement to get ahead of the defenders to slide a cross from Kieran Tierney into the back of the net.
McKenna’s style of play at Ipswich has revolved around left-back Leif Davis providing creativity with his deliveries into the box from the left flank, which would provide Osmand with plenty of similar opportunities to score.
Appearances
43
43
Big chances created
12
15
xA
N/A
10.54
Key passes per game
3.1
2.9
Assists
14
18
Davis, as shown in the statistics above, was an incredibly creative force down the left flank for Ipswich in their two promotion-winning seasons under McKenna, assisting an eye-catching 32 goals in 86 matches.
This suggests that the Northern Irish head coach would build his attack around Marcelo Saracchi or Kieran Tierney’s creativity, which may not be a bad way to go, given Tierney has already delivered four assists in all competitions this season, per Sofascore.
That would ensure that Celtic have a constant supply of creativity down that side, with crosses coming into the box for strikers to attack, which could provide Osmand or Johnny Kenny with chances to score more goals.
Therefore, McKenna could be the perfect appointment for a player like Osmand, after his breakthrough goal, because of his coaching background and the way his team creates chances to score goals.