Football Insider pundit Alex McLeish believes Celtic won’t be happy with the delay of announcing Eddie Howe as their new manager.

The Lowdown: Howe agrees move, delay down to Bournemouth

According to talkSPORT, Howe has agreed to become Neil Lennon’s successor and will be in the Parkhead dugout for the 2021/22 season.

The delay in regards to an official announcement on the 43-year-old is thought to be due to Bournemouth’s involvement in the Championship playoffs.

Howe wants to bring some coaching staff members from the south coast to Scotland, with the report claiming the Englishman could be forced to look elsewhere, should the Cherries return to the top flight at the first time of asking.

The Latest: McLeish’s claim

Talking to Football Insider regarding that update and possible complication, McLeish, 62, believes Celtic could feel second-best due to the long process of getting Howe through the door.

“If Celtic have got to wait on Eddie, it’s not something the big clubs like to do.

“If they’re seen to be doing that then, if you finally get the manager or the coach, it feels second hand and he’s looking for something else. They will be unhappy about that. At the end of the day, they know the level they have to bring to Celtic to win trophies.

“They have successfully done it over the years. Celtic famously stopped Rangers doing ten-in-a-row one of the years. They brought the right manager in at the time. Now they have to do that again to stop Rangers, launching an onslaught.

“One of the other important things, of course, is recruitment. It would be up to that coach who comes in, with the vision, to see who should come to Celtic.”

The Verdict: Celtic shouldn’t feel second best

In our opinion, the Hoops shouldn’t be feeling like they are Howe’s second choice, should a deal go through.

Yes, it’s not ideal with having to wait until the Cherries’ season is complete, as that may run until the end of the month.

However, should Howe officially put pen to paper on a Celtic contract, there should be no comments on him taking the job half-hearted, as he revealed back in November his next position in management needs to be one that ‘really motivated’ him.

Hopefully, the club will announce Howe as their new boss over the coming weeks, bringing to an end a two-month process following talks with the Englishman at the start of April.

In other news: Odsonne Edouard closing in on Celtic exit, find out more here.