The jubilant, thousands-strong, green and white-bedecked throng which gathered on The Celtic Way outside Parkhead last month to laud Martin O’Neill and his players after they had lifted the Scottish Cup and completed an unforgettable and highly improbable domestic double has long since dispersed.
A couple of ground staff are power washing the monoblock stonework. A few sightseers mill about and take pictures of each other in front of the statues of Brother Walfrid, Jock Stein and Jimmy Johnstone. It was very much the calm after the storm at the world-renowned stadium today.
Will a large crowd congregate in the East End of Glasgow to celebrate once again when their new permanent manager is finally unveiled, as was the case when Brendan Rodgers was appointed for the first time 10 years ago, in the coming days? It very much depends on who lands the job.
If the Scottish champions persuade O’Neill, the septuagenarian Northern Irishman who somehow salvaged their car crash of a campaign and delivered two pieces of silverware last term after being lured out of retirement twice by principal shareholder Dermot Desmond, to return then there is every chance the development will spark more joyous scenes.
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If billionaire financier Desmond decides that former Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane is the best candidate to lead Celtic forward then the welcome may not be quite so positive.
In fact, there is a very real danger that a baying mob could turn up to voice their displeasure.
After a turbulent season of disruption, protests, marches, threats, boycotts and bans – frequently ugly unrest which at times required police intervention and which very nearly cost them the title - bringing in Keane might light the blue touchpaper for more destabilising behaviour in the stands.
The 45-year-old, the former Wolves, Inter Milan, Spurs, Celtic, Liverpool and LA Galaxy forward who won a record 146 caps and netted a record 68 goals for his country, has done well since moving into coaching back in 2018. Indeed, the Dubliner won the Hungarian league and cup during his year-and-a-half stint at Ferencvaros, who he left last month.
But the fact that an individual who spent the 2023/24 campaign in charge of Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel has held talks with Desmond and is in firm contention to step into the dugout has already provoked anger, dismay, disbelief and outrage among a section of the Celtic support.
Fans of the Parkhead club have, perhaps more than supporters of any other sporting organisation in the world, shown their solidarity with the people of Palestine amid attacks which United Nations investigators have described as being “consistent with the characteristics of genocide” since 2023.
The prospect of Keane - who was evacuated to Greece following the Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7 that year, but who remained at Maccabi for months after the aerial bombardments on Gaza and the West Bank began – coming in is unthinkable for many of their followers.
“If Robbie Keane comes in he will be the first Celtic manager I would boo,” said Michael McPherson as he leaves the superstore clutching a bag of official club merchandise. “I don’t think he has the experience we need to be a success for a start. But I also have issues with him working in Israel and am very much against it.”
He is not alone in holding that viewpoint. The overwhelming majority of fans who responded to a poll on the popular A Celtic State of Mind podcast today opposed the move. The Antifa Ultras tonight issued a statement branding it “unconscionable”.
“It would be a really divisive decision for the Celtic board to take,” said Jill Thomson of the Scottish Sport for Palestine organisation. “An unnecessarily divisive decision from a football perspective. They have an unstable relationship with some of their fans already. But, beyond that, I think it would be a morally questionable decision.
“Celtic as a club was founded by the survivors of genocide and its ethos is that it is a club for all and is against bigotry of any kind. I can’t think of anything that would jar with that more than hiring somebody who has spent a considerable amount of time working for a football club that has promoted genocide.
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“I have heard it said that certain members of the board think that support for Palestine is concentrated in one corner of the stadium. If that is the case, it is maybe a reason why they would go ahead with this. But research, and the public outcry there has been to this, has shown support for Palestine is something a lot of Celtic fans identify with. It isn’t just the Green Brigade.”
Keane brushed aside the controversy which erupted in his native Ireland when he joined Maccabi several months before the current conflict erupted. He said, “I'm here as a football man and someone that loves the game. I will certainly just focus on that.” Leo Varadkar, the then Taoiseach, publicly defended his right to work in Israel.
But for Thomson, and many like-minded Celtic fans, he should never have accepted the position in the first place, never mind stayed in his role for 12 months.
“This has been a slow genocide which has sped up in the past few years,” she said. “Israel was killing Palestinians long before 2023. You would like to think that managers would carefully consider where they are going to manage. It is particularly disappointing that it was an Irishman who went there.
“I personally think it is a travesty. I don’t think anyone should be endorsing an apartheid and genocidal state. Some people might argue that he went there three years ago when things were not the same. But he left in June 2024 and the following month the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel was an apartheid state. People knew this for a very long time, the information was out there.
“From October 2023, a lot of Israeli clubs, including Maccabi Tel Aviv, were actively supporting the IDF (Israel Defence Forces). Maccabi have given care packages to soldiers on the front line. That was during the time that he was in charge.
“FIFA fined the IFA (Israel Football Association) $190,000 a couple of months ago for failing to take action against persistent racist behaviour by fans of Beitar Jerusalem. But Maccabi Netanya were also cited in their report for ‘military glorification’ in their social media output.
“Some people might say that he made an error of judgement. But it is really disturbing that he stayed there for significant length of time, including when Palestinians were being mass-murdered. He managed this team throughout that. I have not heard an apology or an admission that he made a mistake either.”
Keane, whose wife stated after they had left Tel Aviv in 2024 that her family had continued to receive threats from pro-Palestinian activists which made them fear for their safety in Ireland, may well decide against the move if he is offered the position and he feels the negativity about his past may impact on his ability to do his job properly.
But will Celtic, who got their supporters firmly back onside towards the end of a tumultuous campaign, be prepared to risk incurring the wrath of a sizeable and very vocal section of their international fanbase? There is sure to be ferocious backlash if they do.
