{"id":27281,"date":"2026-04-28T20:30:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T20:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2026\/04\/28\/52-year-old-backed-as-the-new-manager-of-celtic-will-he-genuinely-represent-progress\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T20:30:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T20:30:39","slug":"52-year-old-backed-as-the-new-manager-of-celtic-will-he-genuinely-represent-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2026\/04\/28\/52-year-old-backed-as-the-new-manager-of-celtic-will-he-genuinely-represent-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"52-Year-Old Backed As The New Manager Of Celtic: Will He Genuinely Represent Progress?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Celtic\u2019s board is facing a massive summer. According to former Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, Roberto Martinez is the most obvious way to fix the growing rift with the fans. Speaking on Football Insider\u2019s Inside Track podcast<\/a>, Wyness, who led Aberdeen from 2000 to 2004 before senior roles at Everton and Villa, argued that hiring Martinez would finally get Dermot Desmond and the board off the hook.<\/p>\n

Celtic fans demand the board act, and Martinez could be the answer<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Wyness clearly thinks highly of the Spaniard, calling him a \u201cgood operator\u201d and a \u201cgood solution\u201d for the club. He pointed out that Martinez has the profile Celtic<\/a> need, thanks to his Premier League years at Wigan and Everton<\/a> and his time managing heavyweights like Belgium and Portugal.<\/p>\n

He also didn\u2019t mince words about Wilfried Nancy, calling that appointment a massive gamble that blew up in the board\u2019s face. Wyness is certain the fans will settle for nothing less than a marquee name, though getting Martinez would mean the board has to \u201cpush the boat out\u201d financially. With his Portugal contract ending after this summer\u2019s World Cup, the timing for a move couldn\u2019t be better.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Roberto and I have a good fondness for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe would be a good operator for Celtic. He may actually be a good solution because it gets Dermot Desmond and the board off the hook. It\u2019s showing some actual hope and taking the club forward, appointing a bigger name than Wilfried Nancy, who was, in the kindest way, perhaps not the biggest name.<\/p>\n

\u201cMartinez is proven, he\u2019s handled Premier League clubs. Great stories at Wigan, did well at Everton and Belgium. Perhaps not fulfilling their potential, but that\u2019s more to do, I think, with the players.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is well respected in the game, well liked in the game, and if Celtic were to get him they\u2019d have to push the boat out, but the fans would demand that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Would Martinez genuinely represent progress or another calculated risk for Celtic?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Celtic
ATLANTA, GEORGIA \u2013 MARCH 31: Manager Roberto Martinez of Portugal looks on prior to the international friendly match between United States and Portugal at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on March 31, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The truth is, he\u2019s likely a bit of both: a real step forward, but still a familiar kind of boardroom gamble. Martinez has the CV to back it up; he\u2019s won three trophies, including that famous 2013 FA Cup with Wigan and the 2024-25 Nations League with Portugal. His tactics are also a great match for the Celtic DNA perfectly. Plus, his long history with Shaun Maloney (who played for him and coached alongside him) would give the club some much-needed stability.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s sharp tactically and great with players, but there are still valid concerns. His Everton teams were notoriously leaky at the back after his first season, and he hasn\u2019t been in the day-to-day grind of club football since 2016. Ten years away from the league circuit is a long time.<\/p>\n

Martinez has already said his mind is entirely on the World Cup, so Celtic would have to be patient and fight off other suitors. The board has a chance to make a real statement here, but as they\u2019ve already learned this year, big names don\u2019t mean much if the foundation underneath them isn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celtic\u2019s board is facing a massive summer. According to former Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, Roberto Martinez is the most obvious way to fix the growing rift with the fans. Speaking on Football Insider\u2019s Inside Track podcast, Wyness, who led Aberdeen from 2000 to 2004 before senior roles at Everton and Villa, argued that hiring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13963,"featured_media":27282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13963"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}