Celtic might find themselves five points behind Hearts in the title race, and two behind the Rangers as well, but they are still in this title race. They will need to be close to perfect over the remaining seven games though, and then hope that other results go their way as well.

In the long run, this is not a sustainable situation though. Celtic's squad has declined to the point where they cannot even comfortably compete against Scottish opponents these days.

Additions need to be made in the summer. But before that, bringing in a new manager would be even more important to the club's chances of long-term success.

After Brendan Rodgers quit his role as Celtic manager, Martin O'Neill was brought in as his replacement on an interim basis. To be fair, the Northern Irishman did brilliantly before being replaced by Wilfried Nancy.

Nancy's appointment turned out to be a major misstep on the part of Celtic. A lot of people had their doubts about the manager to begin with, and they ended up being right.

Nancy lasted merely eight games as the manager of. During that 33-day run in the Parkhead hot seat, he was able to win just two games. That is nowhere near good enough and it is easy to understand why the club had no other choice but to sack him so quickly.

They cannot have another appointment as bad as that. So, when they go about trying to replace O'Neill in the summer, they have to get it right this time around.

Charlie Mulgrew has named three managers who should be on Celtic's shortlist, while overlooking Robbie Keane. According to CeltsAreHere, he said on The Breakdown Podcast:

“So I spoke to Joe Ledley the other day, and he put a name in my head: Craig Bellamy.

“And he spoke really highly of him and it made sense.

“So mine would be Berthel Askou, Craig Bellamy.

“I’d like to see the Bodo/Glimt manager spoken to.

“I don’t know how realistic that is.

“Robbie Keane wouldn’t be in mine, and not because I’ve got anything bad to say about him, just because I don’t know enough about him

“He’s been at Ferencvaros; he’s done a good job, aye,

“But my three would be Berthel Askou, Craig Bellamy, and the Bodo/Glimt manager if you could speak to him.”

Someone like Knutsen might be a dream signing for Celtic. He is someone who has managed Bodo/Glimt to great effect in recent times, despite having to work uner financial constraints.

Bodo/Glimt have been brilliant this season, even making a deep run in the Champions League before being knocked out in the last `16 of the competition.

In many ways, Knutsen would be the perfect appointment for Celtic. Not only is he a proven but he also knows what it takes to work within a budget structure and still be successful.

That being said, it is hard to understand why Knutsen would want to leave Bodo/Glimt, a team on a meteoric rise, in order to join Celtic, a club who seem to be on a downward trajectory unless things change very soon.

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