Next Celtic Manager Odds: Wilfried Nancy Hot Favourite To Fill Hoops Vacancy

Wilfried Nancy may not be known by many fans this side of the Atlantic, but the Columbus Crew head coach is now the overwhelming favourite on football betting sites to replace Brendan Rodgers as Celtic manager.

Nancy has won a couple of trophies in the last two years and was crowned MLS coach of the year in 2024, so could he be the man to resurrect the Hoops' fortunes?

For now, former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill remains in temporary charge following the shock resignation of Rodgers and is still in the running after a reasonably successful stint at the helm.

Celtic bounced back from a miserable 3-1 Europa League defeat at Midtjylland by crushing Kilmarnock 4-0 at the weekend to narrow the gap on leaders Hearts to seven points with a game in hand.

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O'Neill revealed after the win at Parkhead that he expects to find out about his future at the club by the end of the week.

When asked in his post-match interview whether he would stay on if requested by the Celtic board, O'Neill replied: "I really don't know." 

So who could be appointed manager during the international break? We check out the contenders and the latest next Celtic manager odds.

Hoops Fancy Nancy For Coach Role

Nancy is not a household name, but he has been causing waves in the MLS.

The 48-year-old Frenchman won the MLS Cup with the Crew in 2023 followed a year later by the Leagues Cup, an annual tournament for the best teams in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The Crew's season ended when they were knocked out of the 2025 play-offs by Ohio rivals Cincinnati, so it remains to be seen what the next step is for Nancy, who is thought to be under contract.

Nancy, who also steered Columbus to last year's CONCACAF Champions Cup final, was 10/1 for the Celtic job last week, but his odds have plummeted to 1/2 with Ladbrokes. 

Next Celtic Manager Odds:

(Odds correct at the time of publication: 11am - 11/11/2025)

Knutsen Drifts On Back Of Nancy News

Kjetil Knutsen was the overwhelming favourite on a couple of betting sites last week, but his odds have drifted from 7/4 to 6/1 in recent days.

For the last seven seasons, Knutsen has been with Bodo/Glimt who have won the Eliteserien in four of the last five years and are a point behind leaders Viking with two games remaining, so another title is a possibility.

Remarkably, Bodo/Glimt also reached the Europa League semi-final in 2024/25.

The Celtic board may have to work hard to prise him away from the Norwegian champions as he turned down the chance to speak to Ajax a couple of years ago.

He has also been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Leeds job should Daniel Farke get the boot, so he is clearly a man in demand.   

Celtic's Last Five Managers:

O'Neill Back In Business After Killie Rout

O'Neill's future remains up in the air and he is undecided whether he would even accept an offer to become Celtic's next permanent manager.

All could be revealed this week, but for now O'Neill's odds on replacing Rodgers on a full-time basis have drifted from 5/1 to 10/1 with Bet365.

The Northern Irishman has won three of his four games in charge, including a Scottish League Cup semi-final victory over 10-man Rangers which went to extra-time.

After the crushing win against Killie, O'Neill said: "I'll take a little time to reflect on the fortnight that I've had and see where we go. If the board do decide they want to appoint a manager in the next fortnight, that's absolutely fine by me."

McKenna Remains A Contender

Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna is still regarded by the Celtic board as a potential replacement for Rodgers, even though his odds have lengthened from 10/1 to 16/1 on betting apps.

The 39-year-old Northern Irishman will forever be remembered as the man who ended the Tractor Boys' 22-year absence from the Premier League.

The return was short-lived, however, and Town find themselves back in the Championship, where they are one spot outside the play-offs following Saturday's impressive 4-1 victory at Swansea.

McKenna revealed last month that the Celtic job has "not touched my radar", although Football Insider later claimed he is "very interested" in the vacancy.

Maloney And Kennedy Outsiders

Shaun Maloney has been acting as O'Neill's assistant since Rodgers walked away from the club for a second time and is priced at 20/1 to get the job.

O'Neill, 73, believes the Celtic board will be looking for a younger man to take on the challenge of one of the most demanding jobs in Scottish football, so could that be Maloney?

The 42-year-old won five titles in the first of two spells with Celtic in the 2000s and remarkably went on to win the FA Cup with Wigan, the club he went on to manage 10 years later after a short spell with Hibs.

John Kennedy is also on the coaching staff at Parkhead and is available at 20/1.

Ange Return Diminishing

Many pundits thought the stars had aligned for Ange Postecoglou to make an instant return to Parkhead when Rodgers handed in his resignation.

The Australian was sacked by Nottingham Forest last month just 39 days into his reign, having failed to win any of his eight matches in charge, so he is available.

Postecoglou was the initial 7/4 favourite to return to Celtic where he won five of the six domestic trophies available during his two-year reign, but those odds have since rocketed to 25/1.

Since leaving Parkhead, Postecoglou had mixed fortunes at Tottenham, where he won the Europa League, but there were no positives about his time at the City Ground.

That said, Celtic fans would welcome back Postecoglou in a heartbeat if he could replicate the success he had in his first spell.

Elsewhere, Ferencvaros head coach Robbie Keane and Wales boss Craig Bellamy, who both had loan spells with Celtic in the 2000s, can be backed at 25/1.

Club Brugge boss Nicky Hayen is also 25/1 to fill the Parkhead vacancy, alongside former Shelbourne manager Damien Duff.

Who would Celtic fans want to see as their next manager? Comment below or vote in our poll above.