JOHN HARTSON has backed Eddie Howe to succeed as Celtic manager – but believes he will need up to TEN new players.
The ex-Bournemouth boss is close to replacing Neil Lennon in the Parkhead hotseat.
Hoops legend Hartson likes Howe’s management style but admits the 43-year-old faces a huge task to wrestle the Scottish Premiership title back from Steven Gerrard’s Rangers.
Hartson said: “It’s a big job but I like the sound of Eddie Howe. I’m more than happy to back him.
“He has got Premier League experience, plays good, entertaining football and on the front foot.
“He did very well at Bournemouth even though they went down eventually but Eddie will see this as a massive opportunity.”
Hartson’s ex-club trail Old Firm rivals Rangers by 23 points with one league game remaining as Gerrard’s men aim to finish the domestic season as Invincibles.
And the former Wales striker, 46, has highlighted the scale of the rebuild facing Howe.
McDonald’s Fun Football ambassador Hartson, who is encouraging local communities across the UK to nominate their grassroots heroes, said: “It will be different for Eddie because Celtic have crowds of 60,000 and they have to respond.
“They have had a poor season in their own rights and gone from winning everything to winning nothing this season.
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“Rangers have won the league by 23 points so Celtic need to respond.
“There will be a big turnover of players. Players will have to go back on loan, players will want to leave and players out of contract. He will probably need another eight to ten players.
“There’s so much to do at Celtic in terms of bringing the new manager in, whether he wants to bring a director of football in with him or his own staff or do Celtic want the staff they have to stay?
“It’s a huge challenge to manage in Glasgow – it took Steven Gerrard three years to win the title.”
Hartson is launching nominations for the 2021 Welsh FA Grassroots Awards, presented by McDonald’s. To nominate your grassroots hero, go to www.mcdonalds.co.uk/awards
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
