It's sad to see MON leaving because of his wife's health but looking at it in different ways, it might not be a bad thing for Celtic. Martin was rightly very highly respected as the manager and won the fans over in record time with a 6-2 defeat of Rangers in his first Old Firm match which was the catalyst for turning the football tide in Glasgow in devastating style in his first season in charge.
However, the team have been very stale looking this season and yesterday at Motherwell, the starting XI included 7 or 8 players over 30. Reaching the
UEFA CUp final was a great achievement but it turned out to be a watershed of the wrong kind. The Board refused to fund some quality signings and performances have been in overall decline since. Martin can't be blamed for the actions of the Board but he was never all that loud in his protests and his own financial package is widely reported to have included a percentage of commercial profits.
The 1 year rolling contract he's been on was not popular with the fans either and in the last year in particular his relationship with the Scottish media has been at best strained. He's leaving the club in a state of an urgently needed makeover, wghich he acknowledges himself.
Personally I wouldn't go for Gordon Strachan. My choice would be Gus Hiddink of PSV, though whether he would be prepared to come to Glasgow now, after looking like being installed last time before Dermott Desmond brought MON in at the eleventh hour, I don't know. PSV have punched way above their weight this season and their performances against Milan in both legs of the CL semi final were a breath of fresh air. Hiddink's teams play with great flair, South Korea in the last World Cup and now PSV.
Wouldn't surprise me if Man Utd move for him. Whatever happens, Martin restored Celtic's respectability at home and in Europe. I wish him well and sincerely hope his wife's health improves. Things like this put the disappointment of losing the league the way Celtic did yesterday, firmly in perspective.
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