Steven Pressley is adamant that Celtic won’t have put all their eggs in the one basket and will know Howe to get out of their managerial mess.
The Hoops have been left rocked over the last 24 hours after their protracted move to land Eddie Howe collapsed.
Celtic are adamant they are already in advanced talks with other candidates after the plug was pulled on their move for the former Bournemouth boss.
The Parkhead club had made him their preferred candidate for more than three months but Howe couldn’t get everything he wanted.
There were suggestions that some of Howe’s targeted backroom staff didn’t want to move to Scotland, although Celtic had tried to throw everything at him but couldn’t get a deal over the line.
Former Celtic defender Pressley said: “It leaves Celtic in a bit of a situation. It looks like they have been banking on Howe for some time but it doesn’t look to be their doing why it’s not happened. This is such a big decision and Celtic have to get it right.
“I understand there will be external pressures because of the situation but Celtic, a club of their size and professionalism, will have had a fallback position if Eddie didn’t happen.
“I would imagine if they have gone through the process then the next appointment won’t be a rushed job but it will be someone who they have been monitoring and will have an understanding of, so you’d hope the next candidate would be as equally as high standard as Eddie. I don’t think Celtic will have thrown all their eggs in one basket.”
It’s now back to the drawing board for chief executive Dominic Mackay and the Celtic board.
Pressley knows why Howe was so appealing but is well aware there will be other candidates who can also more than fill the current void left by Neil Lennon’s departure last season.
He insisted: “As a manager, Eddie probably hasn’t received the credit he deserves.
“To take Bournemouth from the brink of non-league football and establish them as a major Premier League club is quite remarkable.
“His credentials and history are quite amazing. It has been something that Celtic have been very keen on and they have been working with the belief that it would happen. I’m sure even during recent months that the club would have put things in place that Eddie would already have spoken about.
“It will be disappointing for everyone at Celtic. I always say that stability and the building of a culture are so important and those things don’t happen overnight.
“Celtic need to rebuild that and that is the big challenge for the club.”
Pressley, who is joining Brentford as development coach, has been in a similar position as clubs keep managerial plates spinning.
He was part of an ongoing process to land the Burnley job - where ironically he was hoping to replace Howe.
Pressley said: “I interviewed for the job at Burnley after Eddie left.
“I got down to the last two and Sean Dyche got the job.
“Clubs don’t tell you if you are the first or second choice. They don’t tell you until they get their preferred candidate wrapped up.
“Celtic are likely to have done the same, knowing they may have to go elsewhere if Eddie didn’t happen.”
A lot of Celtic fans might now feel that Howe has taken them for a ride over the last few weeks but Pressley knows that top managers won’t accept jobs unless they get everything they need.
He said: “It is so important to get everything in place, as a head coach, to get everything in place to allow you to do your job properly.
“You have to have the people in place you know and can trust to do the job that is required from each position.
“I do get why Eddie Howe has taken so long in agreeing to take the Celtic job. He has probably wanted to wait until everything was right.
“I have taken on some jobs where I have been asked to turn water into wine, but with no resources or support mechanisms in certain areas to help with that.
“I do get why Eddie might not take the job if everything wasn’t in place but I don’t know the exact reasons why it has collapsed.”
