The Portugal boss is among the leading names being touted for the Parkhead job in the summer
22:00, 11 Mar 2026
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(Image: PA)
Aiden McGeady has warned Celtic about a move to appoint his former Everton boss Roberto Martinez as their new manager.
The Portugal boss is among the bookies' favourites to be named next Celtic boss when Martin O'Neill leaves in the summer. He has a long-standing relationship with current Parkhead No. 2 Shaun Maloney having signed him at Wigan before bringing him in as a coach for Belgium.
Maloney has revealed that he has held talks with his mentor. However, he insisted that the chats were based on the upcoming World Cup in North America.
Martinez has left the door open for a return to club management after the tournament, but should Portugal make it to the World Cup final that would cut into pre-season plans with any potential suitor. The showpiece is set to take place on July 19.
Former Celtic star McGeady - who Martinez brought to Goodison Park in 2014 - isn't convinced the 52-year-old would be the right fit. He notes that while the Spaniard is a "good coach" he has struggled to pick up silverware during his management career while having fears over his arrival timeline.
Speaking to Open Goal about the next Parkhead boss, he said: “Martinez? Potentially. I don’t know, because obviously Portugal have got the World Cup, don’t they? He is a top manager.
"The career he’s had and the jobs he’s had would suggest that. I’ve always found with Martinez; I could be wrong here because Portugal could win the World Cup.
“I just think with the teams that he’s had, Belgium with that squad, you should have really won something there. You should have and that was always the thing I found with Martinez at Everton.
"I thought he was a really, really good coach with really good ideas but I just wasn’t sure he had enough about him to go and win things. Which he still hasn’t done.
“I think he is a good coach. Based on my time at Everton with him, it was always the two midfielders, where it was always James McCarthy and Gareth Barry.
"They would literally do 13k a game because they were the ones required that if the ball was coming wide to a fullback, they would always be the ones to get out and put that fire out, and the wingers would just stay up.
Everton FC Manager Roberto Martinez and player Aiden McGeady
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Everton FC Manager Roberto Martinez and player Aiden McGeady (Image: Liverpool Echo)
"So he was a pure attacking and loved his attacking players. Just not me, right enough.
“He loved his attacking players and he was all about attacking. He was very, very possession-based, to the point where it would be sometimes in games you would have to get a certain number of passes before you could really pass forward and go out the other side.
"The Everton fans didn’t really buy into that because they were used to David Moyes going to get the ball forward, balls in the box, headers.
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"We finished fifth under him when we should have finished fourth in the Premier League"