Celtic’s Most Successful Managers – Past and Present
Celtic is the current Scottish Champion and one of the all-time greatest clubs in the country. It has a total of 52 titles in the league, which is 3 behind the Rangers, the team with the most trophies. However, unlike its fierce rivals, Celtic has managed to win the European Champions League.
Throughout its incredible history, the club was guided by many great managers, who are responsible for many unforgettable memories. Below we will reveal and describe the most successful managers that were in charge at Celtic F.C.
Jock Stein
We begin with Jock Stein, which was the first Protestant manager of Celtic. He was appointed in March 1965 and managed to win the Scottish League Cup in his first season.
From there on, Stein and Celtic began their reign in the domestic competitions. Up until 1978 (his last year as manager of the club), he managed to win a total of 25 trophies, 10 of which were in the Scottish League. But, the most remarkable was the one in the European Champions League in 1966/67.
Celtic’s opponent in the final was Inter Milan, which was the previous winner of the competition. Stein and his players triumphed in the match with a score of 2-1. The most amazing fact about the victory was that the achievement was done by a team all born within 30 miles of Glasgow.
Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers started managing Celtic in 2016 and he successfully constructed a very powerful team that was very hard to beat. In his first season at the club, Rodgers went on to win the league without a defeat and delivered Celtic’s fourth treble in its history.
The next season he won another treble which is a truly remarkable achievement. Celtic under Rodgers has remained unbeaten for 69 domestic games, which is a British record. He also holds the record for the best win percentage out of all Celtic managers.
The fans were extremely satisfied with the manager and were devastated when he left to join Leicester City in February 2019. Bettors were also making decent profits on the Celtic matches during his management. Some of them even used the Betfred offers for new customers to place bets.
Martin O’Neill
Next, we have Martin O’Neill another legendary manager, who arrived at Cletic in 2000. After his appointment, there was very little belief in him. O’Neill took over a club that was runners-up in two seasons straight, where the last one they finished 21 points behind Rangers.
In his first season, he managed to win the domestic treble, the first one since 1968/69. Also, the Scottish Premier League title was in the hands of Celtic after their last triumph in 1982.
Martin O’Neil was also quite successful in European competitions, where in season 2002/03, he took his team on to the UEFA Cup final. Up until his resignation in 2005, he has managed to win 7 trophies, 3 of which were in the Scottish League.
William Maley
William Maley was officially the first manager of Celtic F.C. after the board of directors appointed him as a Secretary-Manager in 1897. Before his arrival, the club was spending loads of money on professional footballers and Maley didn’t like that.
He decided to mostly rely on the Celtic youngsters that come through its academy. Between 1905 and 1910, his young team managed to win six consecutive league titles in a row. This was the club’s first Scottish League and Scottish Cup doubles.
A few years later, he decided to introduce a few younger players into the team and went on to win the Scottish League four times in a row between 1914 and 1917. In total, William Maley has won 30 trophies, 16 of which were in the league.
Billy McNeill
Lastly, we have Billy McNeill, who was a Celtic legendary player that captained the team to European glory in 1967. He was appointed as manager in 1978 taking over the job from the legend Jock Stein.
In his first season in charge, McNeill won the Scottish League and the Scottish Cup. One of his most remarkable wins was the one against fierce rivals Rangers, in the last match of the season. Celtic was one man down and managed to win the match and lift the league trophy.
In total, Billy McNeill has won 4 Scottish League titles, one League Cup, and 3 Scottish Cups, in two spells at the club.
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