Scottish Daily Mail journalist Stephen McGowan believes delays in appointing Eddie Howe’s backroom staff is the main reason why the 43-year-old has not been officially announced as Celtic’s new manager.

There is a long drawn out process underway behind the scenes to decide who should work under the former Bournemouth boss, and McGowan thinks that one of the major issues is that some of the coaches are not currently available:

“There are certainly people at Bournemouth he’d like to get in. The problem is, Bournemouth are in a chance for promotion. Six wins from the last seven. They don’t have a permanent manager, so none of this is easy.”

With Bournemouth expected to be involved in the playoffs, the Hoops may be in for a long wait, with the playoff final scheduled to take place in a months’ time.

That could really hamper the Scottish club’s efforts to rebuild the squad during the summer if they have to wait that long to officially appoint Howe. However, it may be the case that the Englishman has pinpointed some transfer targets already ahead of his unveiling.

For example, reports suggest that Celtic have made a bid for Hajduk Split centre-back Mario Vuskovic; something you wouldn’t usually do without the approval of the manager.