Danny Stewart: A new song at Celtic, but who’s singing from the same hymn sheet?

It says it all about the resilience of football fans that, within hours of the bombshell news that Eddie Howe was not coming north, Celtic supporters had a new song ready to go for Ange Postecoglou, the Hoops’ next-best choice.

It says it all, too, about the humour that is never far away from the game, that their ditty contains an admission: “We don’t know who he is because he manages in Japan.”

Some light relief is important for followers of the Hoops right now.

After a catastrophic season on the pitch, the protracted failure to land the former Bournemouth boss as their new manager has been an utter shambles.

There is nothing wrong in allowing your preferred candidate to wait until the season’s end to take up the job.

But you have to be 100% certain that, when summertime rolls around, he will be there on your pitch, posing in front of the cameras wearing a cheesy grin and holding a club scarf above his head.

All evidence suggests Celtic believed that to be the case.

Any action by the club to pursue other options ends up in the media one way or another.

The various agendas of the people around the prospective candidates make leaks almost impossible to police.

It has only been over the last few days they began to make inquiries after smelling a rat with Howe.

For months before, all was quiet, barring chat about the new man’s efforts to secure the backroom team he was after.

Bournemouth’s technical director, Richard Hughes, along with coaches Stephen Purches and Simon Weatherstone, were the men he wanted.

The line that did the rounds was that a deal had been “agreed in principle” – a term which effectively was a nod to the fans they could put the kettle on for Eddie and his entourage arriving by the time they were renewing their season tickets.

Sadly, having pitched their tent, they looked up later to see it blowing halfway down the valley in a gale.

Clearly, Celtic should have tied it down in March, or walked away in search of a safer alternative option.

The club’s statement references circumstances outwith Howe’s control, and the club’s control, as the cause of the collapse.

For which read: “The others did not fancy coming to Scotland to try their luck in a footballing environment a sight more raw than they are accustomed to in England’s sun-kissed south coast”.

What will make it even more painful for Celtic fans – and this one you can put the kettle on for – is the photo opportunity that will accompany the unveiling of Howe and Co at Crystal Palace or somewhere similar in the near future.

Celtic themselves cannot afford to worry about that. They have to make their second choice count.

If it is going to be Ange Postecoglou, they will need to give him all the backing they possibly can to ensure if he gets off to a flyer.

Because if not, the tempest which raged at the club throughout 2020-21 will continue apace through the new season to come.