Is this the hero Celtic need right now?

Here we are again, back in that all-too-familiar place where rumours swirl around Celtic and every new name brings the same question with it: is this really the man for this club?

This week, that name is Nicky Hayen, currently at Genk, where he’s been since December last year.

He has them in third place in Belgium. He was formerly at Club Brugge, who he won three trophies with.

Some people think that late last year he was the guy we missed when we appointed Nancy.

I will be honest. When I first heard it, I did not jump with excitement, but neither did I dismiss it out of hand. I did not roll my eyes the way I sometimes do with these stories. Instead, I paused. I let the name sit for a moment.

Because at Celtic, every serious managerial name deserves that. The real question is never just “who is he?” It is “what is he?”

And, more importantly, is he what Celtic needs right now?

That matters more than anything else.

When I look at his journey, I see a man who has not been handed anything. There is no glamour attached to his name. There is no giant reputation roaring ahead of him. What there is, instead, is steady progression. There is patience. There is the sense of someone building himself step by step, brick by brick, without shortcuts. Part of me respects that very deeply.

In football, and especially at a club like Celtic, authenticity matters.

You cannot bluff your way through this club or hide behind a name or a reputation. You either have substance or you get exposed very quickly. From what I can see, Hayen does appear to have substance.

I said this about the idea of Craig Bellamy; sometimes what a club needs is someone who disrupts the current order of things. This guy is not a disrupter in the same way Bellamy is, but in some ways, he might be even better.

When I look more closely at his career, I see a path that has been built through actual experience. I see a man who has worked in Belgium within systems that demand tactical intelligence, structure and adaptability.

I see someone who has taken on roles where development was not optional but essential. This is someone who has had to learn, adjust and grow without the safety net of unlimited resources or instant expectations.

That, in one sense, is encouraging. It suggests he understands the game beyond the surface. It suggests he has had to think his way through problems rather than simply lean on status or budget. I like that. I genuinely do.

There is clearly a tactical mind there. His teams do not seem to wander aimlessly. They move with purpose. There is shape, there is discipline and there is structure. He looks like a manager who values organisation, who wants players to understand their roles and who believes in building systems. We could use a little of that right now.

Because I have seen what happens when there is no structure and no clear identity. It becomes chaos, and chaos does not win titles. Not regularly. Not at Celtic.

But then the deeper questions begin, because Celtic is never just about what happens on the pitch. It is also about what every game, every interview, every team selection and every dropped point.

Has he felt that kind of pressure before? Has he stood in front of a support that does not just cheer, but demands? This is a tough place to manage. Has he worked in an environment where second place is failure and where even victory gets examined for signs of weakness?

That is where the uncertainty starts to creep in.

Because Celtic is not just another football club. It is a living, breathing force. It lifts people, but it can also consume them if they are not ready for it. Celtic asks for emotional strength. This place asks for someone who can carry the whole weight of the thing and not fold under it.

I do not know if Nicky Hayen has ever faced anything like that.

I think of Wilfried Nancy and how this job hollowed him out in a matter of weeks. When I wrote about Bellamy, I said part of what intrigued me about his name was that he was not likely to buckle under that sort of pressure. So this is not an insult. It is not even criticism, really. It is simply reality.

There is another issue as well, and it matters to me. Connection.

For me, a Celtic manager has to feel as if he belongs before he even arrives. There has to be something in him that understands the soul of the club. Not just the football side of it. Not just the tactical demands. The history. The identity. The emotion. The weight of what this club is and what it means.

Without that, something always feels distant.

And I do not want distance. It was one of the wonderful things about Ange; from the moment he arrived here you knew this was a man who got it. He understood the vibe of Celtic, he understood the passion and the heart of this club.

I want someone who feels Celtic. I want someone who walks into that dressing room and understands, instinctively, what that badge means. Someone who knows this is not just another job or another rung on the ladder.

It has to mean more than that. It has to demand total commitment.

This is where I hesitate most.

Because I wonder if we’d get that connection with Hayen. Maybe it is there and just not obvious yet. Maybe he would embrace the club, grow into it and become part of it in a very real way. Football has surprised us before. Managers who looked like uncertain fits on paper have gone on to build something lasting.

So, I do not want to be unfair. I do not want to dismiss a man simply because he is not the obvious choice or because he does not arrive wrapped in fame and expectation. Sometimes the quieter appointment turns out to be the right one. Sometimes the man without the grand entrance ends up doing the most serious work.

Maybe Hayen could be that kind of manager.

There is intelligence there; this much is obvious. I watched some footage of his teams. They have a clear identity and play an attractive game. There is discipline. There is a calmness about him that might steady a club that badly needs clarity and direction. I can see the outline of an argument for him.

Do I feel convinced? Do I feel, deep down, that this is the man who can carry Celtic forward?

Can he do more than manage the club? Can he embody it?

Is he someone who can stand in the storm and not flinch?

Honestly, I do not know.

That uncertainty lingers, and that is the problem.

Because I want to believe. We all do. The next appointment cannot be just about the football; as James has said, the next appointment has to be one that unifies us. You will never please everyone, that’s a hard fact of life, but you can make an appointment that most people will respect and give a chance to.

I want to trust that the club will make the right call and that whoever comes in will understand exactly what this job asks of him. But I also know Celtic fans can be ruthless when the wrong choice is made. This is not a place where a manager gets endless time to find himself. He either gets it or he does not.

So that leaves me caught between curiosity and caution. I can see the qualities. I can see the appeal and respect the journey.

When I look at Nicky Hayen, I see a manager with structure, intelligence and quiet strength. I respect what he has built and the way he has built it. But Celtic is not just about being competent on paper. It is about understanding the soul of the club, feeling its weight and carrying it without hesitation or fear.

He would be a bold choice, not a choice which people immediately dismiss. He has sufficient experience that he has promise. Whether he has the mental strength, only time would tell. But he intrigues me, because he has a lot of the right stuff.

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