Sky Sports News featured a clip of Ireland manager Martin O’ Neill and his staff sitting pitchside during training. Apaprently, this is some sort of clue that Keane has been moved down the pecking order and replaced by Steve Walford..<\/p>\n
Roy \u00a0used to sit next to him. He’s been moved further along the line.<\/p>\n
Here is O’ Neill;<\/p>\n
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And here is where he made Keane sit;<\/p>\n
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Anyway, the thought of not having to work with Keane after the weekend has taken years off O’ Neill:<\/p>\n
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So, despite the denials, the rumours and all the speculation, it looks like the new guy will be announced on Monday. That gives him time to give serious thought about who he would like as his assistant, and who he would like as head coach. We believe that his first suggestion to the board has been turned down.<\/p>\n
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Whoever gets the job will need to be strong enough to stand up to Keane, but also command the respect of the sometimes fiery Irishman. Theres not many people Keane gets on with, so at least he won’t bring one of his pals with him.<\/p>\n
The more realistic suggestions include Roy Aitken, who has a wealth of experience and \u00a0knows the club inside out. He \u00a0deserves a chance to restore his reputation with the support after he left under a bit of a cloud back in the eighties. Aitken gave his heart and soul to Celtic, but carried the can when things started to go wrong. Unfairly, with hindsight, and he might be the man to shield the players from the more extreme bouts of Keanes rants.<\/p>\n
However, we hear he is currently undergoing surgery;<\/p>\n
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Lisbon lion on twitter held a caption competition, and gburns won it with this entry. Made me chuckle, despite the memory of that awful night. They’ve not found the boot to this day.<\/p>\n
Diary regular Holy Sea came up with Brian McClair as a number two, which given the association with Keane, the link to Celtic, and McClairs work at the Manchester United Academy, is as good a shout as any.<\/p>\n
The assistants job at any club is \u00a0a very important role, and with Celtic under Keane, it is a little more than that. Its absolutely essential the board get this right.<\/p>\n
No yes man, no doing someone a favour, no hoping it all goes right on the night. It has to be someone who will work with Keane, and whilst acknowledging who is boss, he must not be afraid to stand up to him. Most importantly, he will have to have extraordinary powers of man management, because he is going to be very busy with the players.<\/p>\n
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The club have released a statement thanking everyone who has renewed their season books. Over 40,000 are estimated to have been sold, and thats without the expected kick from a new manager or new signings.<\/p>\n
“OUR Season Ticket renewal deadline has now passed, with the Celtic supporters once again demonstrating their phenomenal commitment to the club by renewing in great numbers for the 2014\/15 season.<\/em><\/p>\n Since this year\u2019s campaign was launched by captain Scott Brown at the beginning of last month, our supporters have given fantastic backing to the Bhoys, as we target a fourth consecutive Scottish League title in the season ahead.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The numbers who have renewed to date puts the club well on course to having in excess of 40,000 Season Ticket holders once again next season.<\/em><\/p>\n Anticipation is also building ahead of next month\u2019s European draw when we\u2019ll find out who we\u2019ll face in our quest to make the UEFA Champions League group stages for the third consecutive year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n And of course, we soon hope to know the identity of the new manager of Celtic Football Club, someone we know will receive the full support of the Celtic faithful as we aim to tackle the challenging European qualifying round<\/em>s.<\/p>\n A Season Ticket is your passport to European football and gives holders a guaranteed right to buy UEFA Champions League tickets \u2013 should the team make the illustrious group stages –\u00a0 ensuring you don\u2019t miss out on some of the biggest games of the season.<\/em><\/p>\n The commitment and support of our fans is vitally important to the ongoing success of Celtic, and we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our Season Ticket holders being part of our great club.<\/em><\/p>\n We look forward to welcoming you to Celtic Park once again in 2014\/15.<\/em><\/p>\n BECAUSE WE\u2019RE THE BEST FANS IN THE WORLD<\/strong><\/em> The decision to use the buzzword ” Because ” looks to have backfired there, as the bit in bold doesn’t quite make sense when its tagged onto the line above. “We look forward to welcoming you, because we are the best fans” ? Surely it should be “you are the best fans ” ?<\/p>\n Still, money well spent again, I see.<\/p>\n PR and marketing are not a particular strength of the current incumbents, but not to worry, we’ll get all the publicity we need when Keane gets the job.<\/p>\n But fair play, they have at least acknowledged the supporters contribution. Under the Kellys and Whites they used to tell us hardly anyone had turned up and hide the gate money under the bed. Either that or someone else was doing that, and telling them no-one was there. I remember a home game against Airdrie I was at in the eighties, maybe midweek, and the attendance in the paper was 4,800.<\/p>\n \u00a0Pure fiction. There was at least 6000 there.<\/p>\n Mind you, if you want a book, it might be an idea to get your finger out. This is the queue today<\/p>\n \n \u00a0We believe that the deal for Keane is now almost finalised, and its just a matter of what car he’ll be driving and if can he get time off if one of the dogs needs to go to the vets.<\/p>\n \u00a0John O’ Shea, who gave us a moment of delight when playing for Manchester Utd against the old Rangers-he got booked after about thirty seconds for kicking someone-reckons the deal is done as well, and he thinks Keane will do well;<\/p>\n \u2018I think he\u2019d cope very well,\u2019 said O\u2019Shea. \u2018His appetite since he\u2019s come into this job will have increased “<\/p>\n That should put the fear of God into Ally McCoist, himself no stranger to a meat pie.<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018He\u2019s obviously learned from Martin along the way, too. He\u2019ll relish the challenge. If it does happen, Celtic will be getting a very hungry and determined manager.\u2019<\/p>\n Asked if he thought that would be the outcome, he added: \u2018Yeah, it looks very much like it now.<\/p>\n \u2018It was mentioned at the start of the week and slowly but surely it\u2019s snowballed into having talks with Celtic. So I\u2019d very surprised if it doesn\u2019t get across the line.\u2019<\/p>\n Learning not only from O’ Neill, but Clough and Ferguson as well. Keane will know how to manage, and he certainly has the passion, but can he transfer that into results ? We could be getting the greatest manager of this generation, or the biggest train wreck since Craig Whyte told Ally McCoist to leave the VAT until next month…Book me a seat and get me some popcorn. I can’t wait.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Ireland head to America on Wednesday for further friendlies against Costa Rica and Portugal. O\u2019Neill expects Keane\u2019s situation to be clarified before they cross the Atlantic.<\/p>\n \u2018I imagine that in the next few days the situation will resolve itself,\u2019 he said. \u2018Whether it goes into Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, we are not actually leaving until Wednesday.<\/p>\n So I would imagine that the situation would be sorted by then. Celtic are actively seeking a manager and they have a certain number of days to try and do something because they will want a man in place for when they come back for pre-season.\u2019<\/p>\n O\u2019Neill also insisted Keane was in wider demand, adding: \u2018As I have said before, I would have expected him to step into management eventually because I think that was something that was still burning within him.<\/p>\n \u2018But I did not think it would happen so quickly, that he would have offers – a number of offers \u2013 on the table. And I am not talking about Celtic, I am talking about other teams “<\/p>\n -added O’Neill, desperately trying to appease Dermot Desmond, who sent him a text asking him to go along with the pretence that Keane is interested in other jobs and Celtic are interested in other people.<\/em><\/p>\n Graham Spiers, writing in the Herald, presumably so no-one will notice, pointed out \u00a0Keanes “erratic ” managerial record, and warns us;<\/p>\n Little wonder that Sir Alex Ferguson quickly backed off from his original notion that Keane would be a success in the dugout Thats right, he chose Davie Moyes to replace him instead.<\/p>\n The Daily Record have decided to set the scene for the arrival of the new man, by printing a pageful of his “best rants ” , which are no doubt amusing the staff at the paper. Bear in mind, its only funny when it happens to someone else…<\/p>\n \n \n \u201cWho do you think you are having meetings about me? You were a crap player and you are a crap manager. The only reason I have any dealings with you is that somehow you are the manager of my country and you\u2019re not even Irish, you English ****.\u201d<\/p>\n Keane on Mick McCarthy, below, after falling out with the Republic of Ireland boss before World Cup 2002.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI probably haven\u2019t done myself justice at Celtic. If I\u2019m going to keep getting niggling injuries, that\u2019s no good to anyone. I\u2019ve not made a definite decision but I\u2019m sure other things will come up for me. Doing coaching badges is in the back of my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n Keane on the possibility of hanging up his boots.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI felt like a fraud at Celtic. I made a big mistake there in terms of commuting yet was asking myself why I kept getting injured. I twice tore a hamstring.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t the best preparation. To me it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re on \u00a3100,000 a week or \u00a35000, you\u2019ve still got to do things properly.\u201d<\/p>\n Keane on why his time at Celtic wasn\u2019t a success.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI do remember having conversations with the manager when I was at the club about loyalty and, in my opinion, I don\u2019t think he knows the meaning of the word. It doesn\u2019t bother me too much what he says about me but to constantly criticise other players at the club who brought him a lot of success, I find very strange. But I won\u2019t be losing any sleep over it.\u201d<\/p>\n Keane on why his time at Celtic wasn\u2019t a success.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI do remember having conversations with the manager when I was at the club about loyalty and, in my opinion, I don\u2019t think he knows the meaning of the word. It doesn\u2019t bother me too much what he says about me but to constantly criticise other players at the club who brought him a lot of success, I find very strange. But I won\u2019t be losing any sleep over it.\u201d<\/p>\n Keane on ex-Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, above.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWill those on telly be remembered for what they\u2019ve achieved? No.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t trust them to walk my dog. There are ex-players and ex-referees being given airtime who I wouldn\u2019t listen to in a pub.\u201d<\/p>\n Keane on football pundits … before joining ITV as one.<\/strong><\/p>\n None of these compare to this one, where Roy heard Patrick Viera had a pop at Gary Neville…<\/p>\n keane discusses football with Viera<\/a><\/p>\n In a documentary, years later, Keane explained to Viera;<\/p>\n
\nBECAUSE THIS IS OUR TIME\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n![\"Embedded](\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/Bo9Q7_cCMAAqpGv.jpg\")
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