Without appearing to be too disrespectful to Brendan, any clown could manage Celtic, given the opposition they face each week, apart from Rangers. Anyhow good luck to the bloke.
Bit like Newcastle in the Championship this season, wouldn't you say?
Given that they got knocked out by Hull in the League Cup I don't believe the current Newcastle side would have done much better than Celtic in the same situation despite their greater spending power and ability to attract better players.
Using that particular competition, given the particular set of circumstances, as a major barometer of progress isn't going to get you very far.
The challenge for Celtic is, in addition to maintaining their domestic dominance, and in an environment in which they are consistently blown out of the water in financial terms by many of their European counterparts, transitioning to a more modern playing style and introducing a philosophy that stands them in good stead for the future, as well as entertaining for the present.
By all accounts that's exactly what's happening. It's all they can really do whilst they are so completely outgunned financially, although with a bit luck (like not being drawn in the hardest CL group) Celtic should have a good chance of just occasionally doing quite well in Europe, too.
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