DAVID looks to the future and discusses why both the Celtic and Rangers managers find themselves at a crossroads and with some difficult decisions to make.

ON the face of it, they are in their dream jobs. Neil Lennon and Ally McCoist, managing the teams they grew up supporting, idolised by tens of thousands and getting very well paid for it. But are they happy?

( In McCoists case, getting ridiculously well paid for it, when everyone else is being asked to take a pay cut. )

I’m not so sure. Both men are approaching a crossroads in their careers and may have some very difficult decisions to make.

Let’s start with the Celtic manager. Has Lennon been a success? Undoubtedly. He has done what he’s had to do in terms of the league, winning two in a row and cantering to a third title as we speak. Last season’s Champions League success elevated him to another level and proved that he is more than capable of managing in a more challenging environment.

Trouble is, he has hit a ceiling in Scotland. So what if he wins the next three or four titles? Next year’s is assured and Rangers are such a basket case that it is pretty unlikely they will be in a position to challenge for several seasons.

( So, he’s already said that Lennon is managing his boyhood heroes, and he’s obviously about to mention the chance tio become a legend at that club by winning an unprecedented and all paid for legally ten in a row. )

So what is there to whet his appetite? This is one driven individual who thrives on a challenge, even on being the underdog. But in Scotland he is never the underdog.

( Er, ten in a row. Surely as long as the SFA control the referees , its a major challenge ? )

And now, as this season proved, his team are so much the underdog in the Champions League that there is very little chance of them biting the big boys on the backside. How can they when they sell their best players for £12million but can buy only those in the £2m/£3m bracket?

( Is he suggesting we only sell our players for £2-3m ? )

If Celtic keep strolling it in Scotland but fail to make an impact in the Champions League then Lennon might never get the chance to test himself in a stronger league.

( Such as the Champions League ? )

That’s why he would be very strongly tempted to take an offer from the likes of Norwich. They are dwarfed by Celtic but play in a league that attracts some of the best players so why wouldn’t the best managers want to operate in it?

Lennon would back himself to be enough of a success with a mid-range club down there to be head-hunted.

And gnawing away at him will be the fear that if he doesn’t get the opportunity soon, he might never get it.

( Yes, every time we hear Lennon or see him its blindingly obvious that he’s waiting for Norwich or  Hull to rescue him from the nightmare repetition of another game against Barcelona. )

It’s a tough one for Peter Lawwell. Yes, he could sanction a bigger spend to enable Lennon to have a bigger shot of making more waves in Europe but ultimately it is about a man’s ambition.

( He’s actually saying here that Lennon is going to leave no matter what Lawwell does. Despite having no evidence whatsoever, oh hang on, it is the Record. )

Oh, and before the emails and tweets come flooding in about this being a HOPE that he goes, let me say this: there is not a sports reporter in Scotland who wants Lennon to leave Celtic. The guy is box office. You ask him a question, he gives you an answer. He has opinions and doesn’t mind airing them. So, not only would he be a loss to THE game up here, Lennon would be a loss to OUR game.

(  That paragraph is astonishing. Even Richard Nixon would have blushed at that one. )

As for McCoist, you wonder just how much more nonsense he is willing to put up with. Like Lennon, he is damned if he wins matches and damned if he doesn’t.

The criticism of his team’s style of play is something he will have to put up with because there have been times when it has been hard to watch. On Monday, Seb Faure couldn’t pass the ball to a team-mate five yards away.

But McCoist has done the job he was asked to do – rip through the leagues.

( And ever so cheaply as well, In fact, his policies have driven the club to the brink of administration )

His problems will come from within and with the enemies he has made by his refusal to back those in positions of power who have made a pig’s ear of the finances. Make no mistake, McCoist knows he will be bulleted if he doesn’t look like getting Rangers up next season. There are some who would bump him today if they thought it wouldn’t lead to a season ticket boycott.

( I wouldn’t bump him. I’d bounce off and fall over . )

Despite all the outcry about the wage bill, it is only 30 percent of the turnover, which should be sustainable if the folk at the top of the marble staircase were doing their jobs properly. I don’t think McCoist has reached the stage where he’s had enough but he’s well within his rights to be mightily hacked off.

( The wage bill is sustainable ? Maybe-but fifty players in division 3, some on Premier League wages ? )

And I believe he is.

I listened to a radio show on the way back from Ibrox 10 days’ ago. The former Hearts and Hibs player Michael Stewart was asked a question and told he could answer only yes or no. The question was: Is McCoist a good manager? Stewart’s answer was no.

The format did not allow for an expansion to the answer but I’d have been interested to hear the reasoning.

( I’ll give it a go for you. He single handedly put the old club into eventual liquidation by failing to qualify for Europe. He got knocked out of every Cup before the semi final stage. He blew a 15 point lead at the top of the table in a matter of weeks. Enough to be going on with? Because I could mention his man management skills, or his tactical nous, or his leadership capabilities )

It is impossible to judge because the Rangers boss is not operating within the parameters that normally apply to a manager. Look at what McCoist has done since Rangers were forced to start again on the bottom rung and I would argue that in terms of wins, losses and draws, there is little more he could have done – particularly this season.

( Look at what he did before they had to start again. )

Twenty one league matches played, 20 won and the other drawn. They’ve scored 71 goals and conceded eight. They lead League One by 20 points.

That’s job done but the style of play should be better. When it comes to deciding if he is a good manager, though, that is far too complex for a simple yes or no. A bit like answering the question: “Will Lennon and McCoist still be managing in Glasgow next term?”

( More importantly, will David McCarthy still be writing in the Record next term ?

Earlier in the article, he mentions getting tweets or emails. We’ve intercepted one.

Thanks Dave-pint behind the bar for you-Ally.

Ally won’t be getting me a pint any time soon, or whoever put this out on twitter, which could be intrepeted as a measure of McCoist from those who know him;

One-year-ago

Jimmy Hay was the captain you struggled to remember in yesterdyas teaser. He, along with Danny McGrain and Tommy boyd can lay claim to seven trophies as captain.

Today, name these three musketeers;

That’ll teach you to moan about players haircuts these days…