RONNY DEILA is expected to call time on his Celtic career at the end of the season with reports in his native Norway heavily suggesting that a deal has been struck over the past 24 hours which would see him leave the club within the next few weeks.
The humiliating Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Rangers on Sunday was the last straw, not only for the supporters, but also the Parkhead board.
Dermot Desmond, the club’s main shareholder and key decision-maker, was at the game at Hampden Park and could not have been impressed with what he witnessed.
Deila is understood to have been considering about his future for some time and at least one Norwegian media outlet last night claimed that it has been agreed he will see out this season, with the hope of leading the club to their fifth league title in a row, and then walk away after two years in Glasgow.
Read more: Celtic players divided over whether Rangers will provide a genuine challenge next season
Former Everton and Manchester United manger David Moyes is the first- choice candidate and only recently the Glaswegian uncharacteristically refused to rule out a return to the club where he began his football career.
Moyes has this week been linked with Aston Villa and, while we understand that would not be his own first choice, it is not inconceivable that he would welcome an approach from the relegated English Premier League club. That means Celtic would have to move quickly for the 52-year-old.
Neil Lennon, Deila’s predecessor, admitted over the weekend that the “door was always open” to him returning to Celtic where he enjoyed huge success and popularity as a player and manager.
Deila, if Celtic do win this season’s Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership, will have won three out of six trophies during his two years in Scotland. When that average record is placed alongside his failure to reach the Champions League on two occasions, it stands to reason that the 40-year-old had little chance of being given one more season.
He may have been given more time had Celtic convincingly beaten Rangers at the weekend, but Tom Rogic’s miss in the penalty shoot-out sealed his fate.
The failure of the Deila experiment will impact heavily on Peter Lawwell, Celtic’s chief executive, and he must get the next managerial appointment spot-on. With Rangers evidently returning to the top tier with at the very least a chance of challenging at the top, plus Aberdeen and Hearts set to strengthen, Lawwell cannot take a risk on his next big appointment.
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