The rebuilding job is never the first step. A team has to be dismantled before any foundations for the future can be laid.

The new Celtic manager has three main areas to address before the season kicks off for his club in just eight weeks with a Champions League qualifier.

There are three types of player on his horizon: the departed, the survivors and the arrivals.

The new manager must make quick decisions. And they must work immediately.

THE DEPARTED There are question marks over Paul Hartley and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. The former is out of contract and will have to wait to see if he is on the new manager's wish list. The Dutchman is almost certain to leave with Wolverhampton Wanderers and PSV Eindhoven touted as suitors. Celtic do not seem likely to pick up the year's option on his contract. Shunsuke Nakamura will not return. The futures of Lee Naylor and Scott Brown are uncertain. Naylor may seek a return down south and Brown will be the subject of transfer speculation. A new manager may decide to cash in on the midfielder to bolster his transfer war chest.

There are others who face intense scrutiny. Massimo Donati may want to stay now that Gordon Strachan, his nemesis, has left.

But the Italian has never made a convincing case for inclusion in the team. He may receive one chance. He will have to take it. Paddy McCourt faces a crucial pre-season. He has talent but cannot achieve the level of fitness needed. Chris Killen, the former Hibernian striker, is also likely to be decreed surplus to requirements.

THE SURVIVORS The new manager has the makings of a defence. Artur Boruc will have a new understudy in Lukasz Zaluska. Andreas Hinkel had an impressive end to the season. Gary Caldwell and Glenn Loovens formed a decent partnership in central defence. But the new manager has two major questions to address. He must find a left-back and he must make a judgment on Stephen McManus. The Scottish internationalist had a poor season, possibly undermined by injury. The manager has to decide if McManus is his starting centre-half. If not, he has to choose another captain. The simplest and best solution on present evidence would be to go with Caldwell and Loovens and make the former his leader.

The midfield area also presents problems. Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady can fill the wide positions. Marc Crosas and Hartley, should he stay, are ideal for the role of a holding midfielder. But Celtic desperately need a player who can create from central midfield. Brown cannot yet do this and is possibly more influential in a wider role. One of a new manager's priorities must be to bring in a midfielder with drive and vision.

Celtic also have experience on the sidelines in the shape of Barry Robson and promise in the energetic Simon Ferry. Willo Flood, Paul Caddis and Koki Mizuno also face a challenge to stay at Parkhead.

The strikeforce is a concern. Vennegoor of Hesselink is almost certain to leave, Georgios Samaras is a puzzle a new manager may not even attempt to solve, and Scott McDonald's lack of touch and pace means he needs a reliable partner. Cillian Sheridan is young, quick and improving, but Celtic must buy someone who can come in to make a difference immediately.

THE ARRIVALS Celtic need to address three areas. Darren O'Dea fills in at left-back but the young Irishman is surely a centre-back in the making. Naylor's form has dipped to depths that can only be plumbed by a Trident submarine. Celtic's defence tightened considerably when Loovens came in at the end of the season. His pace has ensured he can extricate himself from trouble. He has toughened up, too. Hinkel has improved immeasurably. He may not be the best defender but he has worked on his game. He is excellent in forward areas. Caldwell made the most improvement of any Celtic player under Strachan but a left-back is a priority.

The midfield needs a playmaker with drive and vision. This type of player can prove expensive. Brown could be sacrificed to fund the arrival of a leader in the centre of the park.

The most glaring deficiency is up front, however. Celtic were two victories away from winning the league. They drew both games, against Hibernian and Hearts, and failed to score a goal. The lack of pace through the centre has been obvious and allowed opposition sides to push up and constrict the game. Celtic need a quick striker who can score goals. And so does every club. This means that Celtic must gamble. It is why they have been looking at strikers at Swindon Town and Peterborough United.

Even if Celtic appoint a manager today this would give him just more than 50 days to assess a group of players, discard the ones he considers surplus to requirements, and sign the recruits he believes can improve a side that faces a Champions League qualifier.

If the manager needs any comfort, he can consider the case of his predecessor. Strachan inherited an ageing side that had just lost a championship on the last day.

He immediately faced a Champions League qualifier against Artmedia Bratislava. Strachan, of course, lost that tie but he went on to win three successive titles.

Celtic now need a manager with a similar facility for achieving success quickly. But the need for quick work is not restricted to the manager. The powerbrokers at Parkhead are aware that time is not their ally. Celtic are determined to move with pace and purpose.