The will he, won’t he saga surrounding Celtic’s new manager keeps the cogs and pistons of speculation clanking over at a furious rate but amid the uncertainty and the upheaval, Craig Gordon seems to be enjoying this prolonged period of pondering and possibility.

Roy Keane, David Moyes, Brendan Rodgers, Martin O’Neill? There are more runners and riders than a meeting at Hamilton Park. After the Ronny Deila experiment, the new man at the helm will likely be a thoroughbred and Gordon admits this current spell of deliberation has given him a tingle of eager anticipation. It’s time to wipe the slate clean and wheel out the drawing board.

“The flip side of the uncertainty is that it’s exciting,” said the former £9 million goalkeeper. “We’re looking forward to reporting back for training and finding out what the new manager wants from us and how he wants us to play.

“There will be a new style of play and there will be different roles for certain players and others, who have been angry or upset about being left out, will have a fresh start. Equally, the boys who have been playing regularly will now have to prove themselves all over again so this can lift everybody.

“On the one hand, you might say that we’re in limbo but I think it’s the opposite of that. I believe we’ll all come back for the pre-season sessions really hungry. Then we can set our sights on the targets for the new campaign and push on from there.

“Regardless of who is appointed – Brendan Rodgers, David Moyes, Roy Keane – they are massive names. They’re going to bring in good managerial experience and they will gain that instant respect.

“So many candidates have been spoken about and some big names have been mentioned and quite rightly so because Celtic is a big club there will always be famous names linked with the job.”

“If the new man can get us back into the European competitions and bring back those big occasions then who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

Deila’s topsy-turvy time in the hot-seat concluded with a 7-0 trouncing of Motherwell at the weekend as Celtic celebrated a fifth successive Scottish title. It was a bitter-sweet moment at the end of a trying campaign of highs, lows, cheers and jeers that ultimately cost the Norwegian his job. “From the players’s point of view, we wanted to go out there and do our best but, for whatever reason, we’ve not really performed as well as we should have done,” said Gordon as he raked over the coals. “I don’t think you can lay the entire blame for that at one person’s door because it’s a collective thing. There were mistakes made along the way, by coaches, players, all of us at times and they’ve all contributed towards us not doing as well as we should have done.

“Winning the championship is a success and we did it with a few games still to play. That should be celebrated because it doesn’t happen every year. This is only my second ever title as a player.

“But we wanted more from the season. We can’t deny that now and I’m not going to go back and say that we didn’t. Ultimately, though, we were unable to do that and we were left with the league, which is good but not all that we wanted.”

Gordon and the rest of his Celtic team-mates will be hoping for the galvanising effect that comes when a new manager enters the fray and having worked under Keane during his spell at Sunderland, the Scotland keeper is well aware of the attributes the fiery Irishman would bring to the role.

“I know there are people who will say that he failed at Sunderland and at Ipswich but I would say that he got Sunderland into the Premier League and kept them there and I don’t think he got the credit he deserved for that,” added Gordon. “I’m sure that, if he was offered the challenge of leading the club (Celtic), he would accept it.

“He’s a hard-but-fair manager. Off the park, he likes things to be organised and he demands that from everyone on the staff. He expects certain standards to be maintained and, if they aren’t, he’ll certainly let you know about it.”

What everyone wants to know now is just who the next Celtic manager will be.