Celtic are set to welcome Newcastle United for a pre-season friendly next summer ahead of Champions League qualifier…
Celtic v Falkirk
Celtic & Falkirk teams are led on to the pitch by Referee Calum Scott. Celtic v Falkirk, Premier Sports Cup, Quarter Final, Celtic Park,, 22 September 2024 Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock
According to OneFootball, the Scottish champions will face Eddie Howe’s Magpies in the latter stages of pre-season with a date pencilled in for Saturday 19 July at Celtic Park.
Celtic are also drawing up plans to venture to Portugal or Ireland in the early stages of pre-season before facing Newcastle United.
The Hoops will have Champions League qualifiers to negotiate for the first time since the 2020/2021 season in August 2025 therefore it is expected Brendan Rodgers’ side’s plans will vary from their Asia and North American tours in the previous two pre-seasons.
Nicky Hayen and Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic greets Nicky Hayen, Head Coach of Club Brugge KV, ahead of the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Club Brugge KV at Celtic Park on November 27, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Likewise, Newcastle themselves could still face European qualifiers next season. With England almost guaranteed an extra Champions League spot for campaign 2025/2026, a Europa Conference League qualification spot could be given to a team that finishes as low down as ninth in the table.
First visit to Celtic Park for Eddie Howe
A first visit to Celtic Park for Eddie Howe could be in the offing as well should he remain in post by the end of this season. The current Newcastle boss rejected the chance to become Celtic manager in 2021 because he could not amass his full coaching staff.
Recently speaking on the Up Front Podcast with TalkSport pundit Simon Jordan, Howe spoke about his reasons for knocking back the Celtic job offer that was presented to him by Dermot Desmond.
What a football club
“During that period that I’d had out, I’d had a few job offers, but I’d said I’m not considering anything for a year. That year had passed, and Celtic came up and I was immediately attracted to the job. I thought, ‘Wow, what an opportunity. What a football club,’” he said.
“Great people as well. The people I met were unbelievable. So, there was no downside for me, but I had to get my staff together. I could have gone in on my own and worked with the staff that are there.”
“But I felt I needed to go in at my strongest. My strongest would have been with my team, so that’s Jason Tindall, Steven Purchase, Simon Weatherstone, and Dan Hodges. These are important people to me.”
Eddie Howe
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Manchester United at St. James Park on December 27, 2021. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
I was really keen to go
Howe explained, “so I’d made my decision. I was really keen to go. Jason [Tindall] had left Bournemouth, but I couldn’t get them together. I couldn’t get the team to all agree. And it wasn’t necessarily I needed every single one of them. But of course, that’s an important dynamic.”
“And I didn’t feel that was right for me to take the opportunity. In that moment would have been wrong for Celtic as well, I think. So, I declined the offer.”
When asked by podcast presenter Simon Jordan on whether observations from the media that he bottled accepting the role were unfair, Howe responded, “well, it is, yeah. But that’s what happens in the media, doesn’t it? You jump to conclusions”
“I heard that, and you have to accept it. You can’t fight it.”
Conor Spence
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