Eddie Howe stunned Celtic on Friday by turning his back on their manager’s job.
The Hoops are now pushing ahead with other candidates after their move for the former Bournemouth boss - almost three months in the making - fell apart at the 11th hour.
And the Parkhead club insisted that the reasons for the failure to get the deal over the line was outwith the control of both the club and Howe.
The ex-Cherries boss had agreed in principle to take the job but wanted his full backroom staff in place, including Bournemouth trio Richard Hughes, Stephen Purches and Simon Weatherstone.
It is understood that Celtic made moves and pushed the boat out for them all but some of Howe’s team didn’t didn’t want to move north.
Howe made it clear that he wasn’t prepared to make the move without them all, despite Celtic doing all they could to make it happen.
They put their money on the table and even asked Howe to consider other candidates but they couldn’t get the deal back on track.
A Celtic statement confirmed: "Following very positive and detailed discussions with Eddie Howe, with the belief that he would be an excellent candidate for the position of Celtic manager, we allowed time for the process, given he’d previously made it clear he was not looking to return to management until this summer at the earliest.
"We can now confirm that Eddie will not be joining the club, for reasons outwith both his and Celtic’s control.
"We wish Eddie success for the future.
"As part of the ongoing process we have engaged with a number of candidates.
"We fully appreciate our fans will be seeking clarity on this matter and we aim, very shortly, to announce the appointment of a manager with the quality and desire to take Celtic forward and bring further success to our supporters.’
It is a major blow for Celtic as they have been without a permanent manager since Neil Lennon stepped down three months ago.
Interim boss John Kennedy has been left in temporary charge.
Celtic had hoped to have announced Howe several weeks ago but there were contractual issues if it happened before the end of the season.
The Celtic board had been willing to wait for Howe and were willing to give him a blank canvas and the finances to try and topple Rangers but it hasn’t been enough.
New chief executive Dominic McKay is now being charged with getting a new man over the line.
Former Celtic boss Roy Keane was one of the candidates who was interviewed as part of the managerial process.
Keane was previously interviewed for the job back in 2014 but it never came off and they turned to Ronny Deila.
