Scotland manager Steve Clarke has revealed he came tantalisingly close to becoming Celtic boss.
In the summer of 2014, the Hoops were shocked by the resignation of Neil Lennon, and spread the net wide and far for his replacement, with the unknown Ronny Deila eventually winning the role.
However, things could've turned out very differently had Clarke managed to persuade Dermot Desmond of his suitability during a meeting between the two at the time.
Clarke was looking for a new gig after leaving West Brom, and speaking via the Sun, he explained: "At the start of that summer, I was quite confident I’d come out the other side in a job of some kind.
“I met Dermot Desmond at his place in London and we had a good chat. I was interviewed by Brighton at around the same time.
“I had two really good interviews at two really good clubs and ended up runner-up in both.
“ Celtic appointed Ronny Deila and Sami Hyypia got the Brighton job. So it was a little lesson for me not to be too confident about getting a job in future.
“It’s nice to be wanted, it’s nice to be invited for interviews but it’s not always certain a job is going to result.
“A few months later I went to Reading. The job didn’t turn out the way I thought it would, but I made the most of it then moved on.”
In the end, Deila took over at Celtic Park and won two Premiership titles in a row, whilst Clarke went on to join Reading in the English Championship, before moving to Rugby Park for a hugely successful spell at Kilmarnock.
Clarke then became Scotland's head coach in 2019 and ended our 22-year wait to reach a major tournament - but we'll never know how the fate of the national team, and Celtic, would have transpired if Desmond had arrived at a different decision seven years ago.
