Martin O'Neill had his fairy-tale ending last season, guiding Celtic to an unexpected league and cup double, with his last game coming against a Neil Lennon-managed side.

In many ways, that would have been the perfect ending to O'Neill's managerial career. But the Northern Irishman decided to continue on in the Parkhead hot seat for at least another season.

In hindsight, that might have been a mistake. Celtic's start to the campaign has been very concerning. The results and performances have both failed to meet the mark. The club have their injury problems as well.

Celtic have failed to make the Champions League again, lost all three of their Europa League games so far, are out of the Scottish League Cup already and have tasted defeat against the Rangers twice.

Ideally, Celtic fans would like to see O'Neill turn things around. But considering how poor the start to their campaign has been, that is starting to feel unlikely.

On the other hand, even if O'Neill does turn it around, it is hard to see the 74-year-old continue in his role beyond this campaign.

So, sooner or later, Celtic will need to bring in a new manager. Kieran McKenna has been linked with the role quite heavily in recent weeks. But there is some bad news in that regard.

According to Football Insider, Crystal Palace have an advantage over Celtic in the race to appoint McKenna.

Crystal Palace would be prepared and willing to offer a better contract to McKenna. On top of that, Ipswich Town will be due around £8 million in compensation.

McKenna has proven to be a top manager in the Championship and League One, enjoying three promotion-winning campaigns with Ipswich Town.

His sole campaign in the Premier League did not prove to be a success, although one could argue that he never had the tools needed to succeed at that level.

This summer, he made the interesting choice of walking away from Ipswich Town, despite guiding them to Premier League promotion again. So, right now, McKenna is without a club.

Despite that, it is believed that any club looking to hire him would have to pay compensation in the region of £8 million if they want to bring him in before next summer.

For a Premier League club, that would not be a problem. And with Crystal Palace sitting at 17th, they might look to make a managerial change very soon, if things do not improve.