Danny Mills Believes Crystal Palace Could Cause Celtic Headache

Pundit Danny Mills has had his say on the Eddie Howe situation amid a belief he could snub Celtic in favour of a south London move to take up the vacant Crystal Palace job.

Crystal Palace’s manager Roy Hodgson recently confirmed an amicable departure from his boyhood club at the end of the Premier League season, having successfully kept the south Londoners in the English top flight for the past four campaigns.

Frank Lampard was previously the favourite to succeed the veteran tactician but recent reports from Football Insider have claimed that Lampard has withdrawn his interest, believing the rebuilding job at Selhurst Park could be too big.

That could have knock-on effects for Celtic, with chiefs at Parkhead reportedly concerned that the Eagles could swoop for Celtic’s top managerial target in Howe.

Howe has also been a figure consistently linked with the Palace job, and Danny Mills has backed Howe to succeed in the English capital.

Speaking to Football Insider, who described the situation as a ‘nightmare’ for Celtic, Mills had his say when asked if the interest was truly a worst-case scenario:

“Possibly.

“[Palace chairman] Steve Parish has got to get it right. Whether you like Hodgson or not he was a fantastic appointment. He was brought in to do a job and he’s done it incredibly well.

“They’ve stayed up without spending very much money at all.

“You’ve got an awful lot of players out of contract, [Eberechi] Eze with a long-term injury. So, bringing a manager in a time like that.

“Bringing Lampard in would’ve been a risk, a big risk. With all those players out of contract, are you keeping hold of all those players?”

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Palace have been a thorn in Celtic’s side for some time now over the availability of Howe, and it remains to be seen as to whether Howe is truly stalling or not due to Palace’s maintained interest.

A Premier League job in the English capital could prove attractive on and off the pitch, though both jobs would require significant funds to be made available for a rebuilding job.

With the Daily Record claiming Howe’s Celtic appointment is imminent, fans face a nervous wait to see if Howe is truly committed to the Celtic project.