James Forrest
The Emperor of Ice Cream
Sometimes my Ginger Witch instincts drag me towards subjects that are far more complicated than they first appear.
I start with one thought and, by the time I’ve followed the thread through the labyrinth, I find something entirely different waiting for me at the centre.
This is one of those times. Because this article began with Irish managers.
It began with thoughts of men like Martin O’Neill, Neil Lennon and Brendan Rodgers. It began with the extraordinary contribution Irish football figures have made to Celtic throughout modern history.
But by the time I reached the end of that road, I realised the story wasn’t really about nationality at all.
It was about identity. It was about respect. It was about ambition. And it was about understanding the difference between honouring your roots and becoming trapped by them.
Let me make one thing clear before anyone reaches for the outrage button.
Celtic’s Irish identity is not a problem. It is one of the club’s greatest strengths.
Without Ireland, there is no Celtic. Without the Irish immigrants who helped build Glasgow, there is no Celtic. Without that bond stretching across the Irish Sea, generation after generation, there is no Celtic.
The club’s Irish soul is woven into every part of its story. Its history. Its culture. Its values. That connection should never be diluted. It should never be apologised for. It should never be forgotten.
In fact, I would argue it should be celebrated more than ever in a football world increasingly obsessed with branding, marketing and sanitised corporate identities.
Celtic is different. Celtic means something.
But as I found myself reflecting on some of the great Irish figures who have helped shape the club, another thought emerged.
Have we always shown them the respect they deserved?
Take Martin O’Neill. For many supporters of my generation, he remains the gold standard. The man who restored belief. The man who transformed Celtic from a club desperately trying to compete into a club capable of standing tall on the European stage.
He gave us memories that still glow like lanterns in the darkness.
Seville. European nights. Domestic dominance. A team filled with warriors and leaders.
Yet sometimes I feel Scottish football never fully appreciated what O’Neill achieved. His success was almost treated as an inconvenience. His standards were considered uncomfortable. His ambition was regarded as excessive.
Instead of celebrating excellence, too many seemed determined to explain it away.
Then there was Neil Lennon. Now there is a figure who divides opinion like few others.
But whether people like him or dislike him, whether they agree with every decision he made or not, one thing is undeniable. Neil Lennon gave everything to Celtic. Everything.
As a player. As a captain. As a manager. As a human being.
He stood in the firing line during some of the ugliest periods Scottish football has seen in modern times. He faced hatred that went far beyond football. He carried burdens no manager should ever have to carry.
Yet he kept fighting. He kept winning. He kept delivering trophies.
Sometimes I think Celtic supporters remember that. I am not always convinced Scottish football does.
Then we come to Brendan Rodgers. Perhaps the most fascinating example of all.
When Rodgers arrived, many supporters saw a coach with elite-level credentials. And what happened? Success. Treble after treble. Records shattered. Standards raised. A footballing identity restored. The football was magnificent at times. The achievements were historic.
Yet even Rodgers became a target.
Not merely from rivals, which is understandable, but often from the very institutions that should have been celebrating excellence.
Sometimes Scottish football seems strangely uncomfortable when Celtic becomes too successful. As if achievement itself becomes something to resent. As if ambition is arrogance. As if excellence requires justification.
Perhaps that is why I find myself reflecting on these Irish figures today.
Not because they were Irish.
Because they were excellent.
That is the important distinction.
Martin O’Neill was not a great Celtic manager because he was Irish. Neil Lennon was not successful because he was Irish. Brendan Rodgers did not dominate Scottish football because he was Irish.
They succeeded because they were talented. Because they understood Celtic. Because they understood pressure. Because they understood expectations. Because they understood what this football club demands from those privileged enough to represent it.
That is where my Ginger Witch instincts began leading me towards a larger truth.
The lesson of these men is not that Celtic should always hire Irish managers. The lesson is that Celtic should always hire the very best people available.
There is a difference. A massive difference.
Sometimes football clubs fall into the trap of confusing identity with recruitment. They convince themselves that because certain backgrounds have produced success in the past, those same backgrounds will automatically produce success in the future.
But football does not work like that. Success cannot be inherited. It must be earned. Every single time. If the best candidate is Irish, appoint them. If the best candidate is Scottish, appoint them. If the best candidate comes from Germany, Spain, Australia, Norway or Japan, appoint them.
What matters is not where they come from. What matters is whether they understand where Celtic is trying to go. Because understanding Celtic is not about nationality.
It is about mentality.
That may be the most important distinction of all. You do not need to be Irish to understand Celtic. You do not need to be Scottish to understand Celtic.
You need to understand excellence. You need to understand responsibility. You need to understand that managing Celtic is unlike managing almost any other football club. You need to understand that supporters expect more than participation.
They expect success. They expect progress. They expect standards. They expect leadership.
Above all, they expect people to care.
Really care.
That is what connects O’Neill, Lennon and Rodgers. Not nationality. Commitment. Passion. Standards. Belief. They understood the magnitude of the institution they were representing. That is what Celtic should always be searching for.
Not passports. Not accents. Not familiar names. Not comfortable choices. The best person. The strongest vision. The highest standards. The boldest ambition.
Because Celtic is not a local football club. It stopped being that a very long time ago.
Celtic is a global institution. A club known and loved across continents. A club whose story resonates with people who have never even visited Glasgow. A club with supporters from every corner of the world.
A club of that size should never allow its thinking to become small.
The irony is that the stronger your identity becomes, the less afraid you should be of looking outward. A club secure in itself does not fear new ideas. A club secure in itself does not fear different perspectives. A club secure in itself does not fear talent arriving from unexpected places. Quite the opposite. It welcomes it.
Because it knows exactly who it is.
That, ultimately, is where I find myself landing. Celtic’s Irish connection should always be celebrated. Always. It is one of the most beautiful parts of the club’s story.
The contributions of men like Martin O’Neill, Neil Lennon and Brendan Rodgers deserve recognition and gratitude. Not because they were Irish, but because they helped make Celtic stronger. Because they delivered success. Because they added chapters to our history. Because they understood what this club means.
But the greatest tribute we can pay to their legacy is not to endlessly search for the next Irish manager. The greatest tribute we can pay them is to embrace the principles that made them successful in the first place. Excellence. Vision. Leadership. Passion.
Those qualities have no nationality. They belong to anyone capable of carrying Celtic forward. As I sit here listening to the Rumour Mill grinding out stories about O’Neill and Keane I remember that Celtic’s soul is Irish. Its roots are Scottish. Its history is extraordinary.
But its future should be limited by none of those things.
The future should belong to the very best people we can find, wherever they come from, provided they understand one simple truth: At Celtic, you are not merely managing a football club. You are becoming part of a story far bigger than yourself.
If we find a manager that embodies that, who cares where he comes from?
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The post Celtic’s Irish soul should be celebrated. We can’t be imprisoned by it. appeared first on The Celtic Blog.
Continue reading...
I start with one thought and, by the time I’ve followed the thread through the labyrinth, I find something entirely different waiting for me at the centre.
This is one of those times. Because this article began with Irish managers.
It began with thoughts of men like Martin O’Neill, Neil Lennon and Brendan Rodgers. It began with the extraordinary contribution Irish football figures have made to Celtic throughout modern history.
But by the time I reached the end of that road, I realised the story wasn’t really about nationality at all.
It was about identity. It was about respect. It was about ambition. And it was about understanding the difference between honouring your roots and becoming trapped by them.
Let me make one thing clear before anyone reaches for the outrage button.
Celtic’s Irish identity is not a problem. It is one of the club’s greatest strengths.
Without Ireland, there is no Celtic. Without the Irish immigrants who helped build Glasgow, there is no Celtic. Without that bond stretching across the Irish Sea, generation after generation, there is no Celtic.
The club’s Irish soul is woven into every part of its story. Its history. Its culture. Its values. That connection should never be diluted. It should never be apologised for. It should never be forgotten.
In fact, I would argue it should be celebrated more than ever in a football world increasingly obsessed with branding, marketing and sanitised corporate identities.
Celtic is different. Celtic means something.
But as I found myself reflecting on some of the great Irish figures who have helped shape the club, another thought emerged.
Have we always shown them the respect they deserved?
Take Martin O’Neill. For many supporters of my generation, he remains the gold standard. The man who restored belief. The man who transformed Celtic from a club desperately trying to compete into a club capable of standing tall on the European stage.
He gave us memories that still glow like lanterns in the darkness.
Seville. European nights. Domestic dominance. A team filled with warriors and leaders.
Yet sometimes I feel Scottish football never fully appreciated what O’Neill achieved. His success was almost treated as an inconvenience. His standards were considered uncomfortable. His ambition was regarded as excessive.
Instead of celebrating excellence, too many seemed determined to explain it away.
Then there was Neil Lennon. Now there is a figure who divides opinion like few others.
But whether people like him or dislike him, whether they agree with every decision he made or not, one thing is undeniable. Neil Lennon gave everything to Celtic. Everything.
As a player. As a captain. As a manager. As a human being.
He stood in the firing line during some of the ugliest periods Scottish football has seen in modern times. He faced hatred that went far beyond football. He carried burdens no manager should ever have to carry.
Yet he kept fighting. He kept winning. He kept delivering trophies.
Sometimes I think Celtic supporters remember that. I am not always convinced Scottish football does.
Then we come to Brendan Rodgers. Perhaps the most fascinating example of all.
When Rodgers arrived, many supporters saw a coach with elite-level credentials. And what happened? Success. Treble after treble. Records shattered. Standards raised. A footballing identity restored. The football was magnificent at times. The achievements were historic.
Yet even Rodgers became a target.
Not merely from rivals, which is understandable, but often from the very institutions that should have been celebrating excellence.
Sometimes Scottish football seems strangely uncomfortable when Celtic becomes too successful. As if achievement itself becomes something to resent. As if ambition is arrogance. As if excellence requires justification.
Perhaps that is why I find myself reflecting on these Irish figures today.
Not because they were Irish.
Because they were excellent.
That is the important distinction.
Martin O’Neill was not a great Celtic manager because he was Irish. Neil Lennon was not successful because he was Irish. Brendan Rodgers did not dominate Scottish football because he was Irish.
They succeeded because they were talented. Because they understood Celtic. Because they understood pressure. Because they understood expectations. Because they understood what this football club demands from those privileged enough to represent it.
That is where my Ginger Witch instincts began leading me towards a larger truth.
The lesson of these men is not that Celtic should always hire Irish managers. The lesson is that Celtic should always hire the very best people available.
There is a difference. A massive difference.
Sometimes football clubs fall into the trap of confusing identity with recruitment. They convince themselves that because certain backgrounds have produced success in the past, those same backgrounds will automatically produce success in the future.
But football does not work like that. Success cannot be inherited. It must be earned. Every single time. If the best candidate is Irish, appoint them. If the best candidate is Scottish, appoint them. If the best candidate comes from Germany, Spain, Australia, Norway or Japan, appoint them.
What matters is not where they come from. What matters is whether they understand where Celtic is trying to go. Because understanding Celtic is not about nationality.
It is about mentality.
That may be the most important distinction of all. You do not need to be Irish to understand Celtic. You do not need to be Scottish to understand Celtic.
You need to understand excellence. You need to understand responsibility. You need to understand that managing Celtic is unlike managing almost any other football club. You need to understand that supporters expect more than participation.
They expect success. They expect progress. They expect standards. They expect leadership.
Above all, they expect people to care.
Really care.
That is what connects O’Neill, Lennon and Rodgers. Not nationality. Commitment. Passion. Standards. Belief. They understood the magnitude of the institution they were representing. That is what Celtic should always be searching for.
Not passports. Not accents. Not familiar names. Not comfortable choices. The best person. The strongest vision. The highest standards. The boldest ambition.
Because Celtic is not a local football club. It stopped being that a very long time ago.
Celtic is a global institution. A club known and loved across continents. A club whose story resonates with people who have never even visited Glasgow. A club with supporters from every corner of the world.
A club of that size should never allow its thinking to become small.
The irony is that the stronger your identity becomes, the less afraid you should be of looking outward. A club secure in itself does not fear new ideas. A club secure in itself does not fear different perspectives. A club secure in itself does not fear talent arriving from unexpected places. Quite the opposite. It welcomes it.
Because it knows exactly who it is.
That, ultimately, is where I find myself landing. Celtic’s Irish connection should always be celebrated. Always. It is one of the most beautiful parts of the club’s story.
The contributions of men like Martin O’Neill, Neil Lennon and Brendan Rodgers deserve recognition and gratitude. Not because they were Irish, but because they helped make Celtic stronger. Because they delivered success. Because they added chapters to our history. Because they understood what this club means.
But the greatest tribute we can pay to their legacy is not to endlessly search for the next Irish manager. The greatest tribute we can pay them is to embrace the principles that made them successful in the first place. Excellence. Vision. Leadership. Passion.
Those qualities have no nationality. They belong to anyone capable of carrying Celtic forward. As I sit here listening to the Rumour Mill grinding out stories about O’Neill and Keane I remember that Celtic’s soul is Irish. Its roots are Scottish. Its history is extraordinary.
But its future should be limited by none of those things.
The future should belong to the very best people we can find, wherever they come from, provided they understand one simple truth: At Celtic, you are not merely managing a football club. You are becoming part of a story far bigger than yourself.
If we find a manager that embodies that, who cares where he comes from?
Choose The CelticBlog as a ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the news you value.
The post Celtic’s Irish soul should be celebrated. We can’t be imprisoned by it. appeared first on The Celtic Blog.
Continue reading...
