A big decision on the next Celtic Park manager is rapidly approaching for the board
07:10, 17 Feb 2026Updated 08:11, 17 Feb 2026
Barry Ferguson
Celtic have been told to pursue Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou if Martin O’Neill doesn’t want to stay on beyond the end of the season.
The Steelmen have won plaudits for their style of play this term and have rocketed up the Premiership table on a fraction of Celtic, Rangers and Hearts’ budgets. Askou’s men have lost just once in the league since October and sit just 10 points off Derek McInnes’ table toppers, with a game in hand.
Should O’Neill end his interim stint after the current Premiership campaign, the Hoops have been linked with a move for Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez – who looks likely to step down after the World Cup – with the Spaniard having close links with Celts coach Shaun Maloney. But Record Sport previously revealed Chris Sutton is among the Parkhead heroes tipping the Motherwell boss for the hot seat.
And with the process of finding a new boss already underway behind the scenes at Celtic Park, Mulgrew told the Go Radio Football Show: “If Martin O’Neill wins it, I think he should get a chance to take it on next year.
“That is my opinion, he deserves that at least. I don’t know if he wants to, but I would 100 per cent go for [Jens] Berthel Askou. What he is doing for Motherwell is nothing short of remarkable, and what he could do for Celtic in Europe I think would be really interesting to see.”
Rangers hero Barry Ferguson chimed in: “All I can says is I’m really impressed by the way he coaches, by the way he manages his team.
Motherwell Manager Jens Berthel Askou
“They are the best team to watch this season, by a country mile. Both with the ball and without the ball. They went down to 10 men [against Rangers] and they don’t change the way they play. They are very calm about it. You go into a bit of a panic sometimes but they just kept plugging away.”
Mulgrew added: “He is a real forward thinking manager. In the past, people have moaned about not being able to play football because they don’t have the budgets of Celtic and Rangers. He has put all of that to bed. He goes with two strikers as well and manages to cover the wide areas, it’s really impressive.”
Ferguson refused to rule Well out of the title picture – and conceded he wouldn’t want to face off against Askou: “See when you are just looking at the league table, they win that game in hand and they are on 50 points. They are right up there. I wouldn’t want to come up against Motherwell.”
Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE