Celtic fans are pleased with how their side have performed since Martin O’Neill took charge as interim manager.
The Hoops have won three of their four games under the Irishman, with 12 goals scored in that period.
O’Neill has always been a winning Celtic boss, as his stats from his first stint show, but he is now 73 years old and his career in the dugout is coming to an end.
The reigning Scottish Premiership champions are still in need of a full-time manager, with O’Neill unlikely to take on the role full-time having taken over from the resigned Brendan Rodgers.
However, it appears O’Neill and his co-boss Shaun Maloney are content to take the reins for as long as it takes for the Celts to get the right man in to turn their fortunes around.
It was recently claimed by former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan that he had been informed that the club would wait until December to appoint the man they wanted.
Celtic want Kjetil Knutsen from Bodo/Glimt as their new manager
That left it open to interpretation as to who the next Hoops head coach would be.
Craig Bellamy was suggested as Wales’ World Cup qualification was nearing its end. But the hint seemed to point to another boss that will become available during the same time period.
Bodo/Glimt head coach Kjetil Knutsen is highly regarded and has been approached by the Celtic board in the past. Ajax also wanted the 57-year-old, who has been happy so far, to stay in Norway.
However, now it seems that the coach is ready to move to another country and take on an exciting project. That could finally be Glasgow, where league titles and Champions League football are on offer.
We at FootballBlog we crunched the numbers and did the calculations as we tried to figure out why Celtic would be wise to wait until December to appoint a new face with an intriguing pedigree.
Kjetil Knutsen’s Bodo/Glimt record
The Norwegian manager seemed to come out of nowhere to some extent as head coach at Bodo/Glimt, but that only tells half the story.
He became the club’s manager in 2018 after previously serving as assistant boss and has single-handedly turned around its fortunes.
The season before he arrived the club had been relegated but won promotion again. And that was where and when he did his best work.
He finished 11th in his first full season as manager before being tipped for the drop the following season after losing major players. However, Knutsen dragged the club to second place when he won Coach of the Year in Eliteserien.
The following year he was named Coach of the Year for the second time, but that was due to the incredible form of his side: they won 26 of their 30 games and scored an impressive 103 goals.
They won the league title that year – for the first time in their history.
Once again the following season came and went with a trophy in the cabinet, as Knutsen had won consecutive titles as manager. They had sold top stars again.
In total, across all competitions, both domestically and in Europe, Knutsen has managed Bodo/Glimt 361 times, winning 209 of those games.
His side has drawn 72 and lost 70 and he has seen them score 840 and concede 411.
Only in league football does he have a points-per-match ratio of 2.04, which is comparable to some Celtic bosses during their own careers in Glasgow.
Knutsen’s playing style
Knutsen has made a career by adapting a 4-3-3 formation with his team.
According to a detailed analysis by the Coaches’ Voice, the Norwegian employs a possession-based style, with his side rarely having less than 60 percent of the ball in his five years at the club.
They are also relatively similar to Celtic in terms of attacking effort, with Knutsen having to figure out how to push opponents’ low blocks with most of the men behind the ball.
Bodo/Glimt also played most of their football under the manager with shorter passes rather than long balls and that still worked against their defensive foes.
His use of his wing-backs and wide players also fits in with the way Celtic have traditionally played with a number nine looking to capitalize on their deliveries.
Without possession, the Norwegian team is keen to push high, similar to Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side, who thrived during the Australian’s time in Scotland.
It’s a system that requires hard work, but this Celtic side is no stranger.
Knutsen and Bodo/Glimt in Europe
Bodo/Glimt were offered Europa League football after their second-place finish in 2019, but they found themselves up against powerhouses AC Milan.
But the club got a taste for Euro competition and reached the Conference League the following season, going all the way to the quarter-finals at their first attempt.
In the following season it was the group stages of the Europa League that they made before their greatest achievement would come.
In 2024/25, Bodo/Glimt and Knutsen went all the way to the semi-finals of the Europa League, but were defeated by eventual winners Tottenham Hotspur.
This season the club qualified for the Champions League stage for the first time in history.
What Knutsen said about the future amid Celtic ties
Asked to comment directly on the Celtic link by the media in his home country, Knutsen was coy.
Although he did hint at an eventual exit without specifying the Scottish giants.
“Nothing is certain in life,” he said.
“I am here now and I am happy, and then we can enjoy a great football match. It is hopeless to answer about another club.”
“I answer as I always do – (if I leave) it should be a little more exciting than Glimt.”
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