Talks have broken down between Celtic and Eddie Howe over a deal for the former Bournemouth boss to become their manager.
He was seen as the club's number one target, but issues around budgets and backroom staff have supposedly caused complications.
In a statement, Celtic say they held "very positive and detailed discussions with Eddie Howe, with the belief that he would be an excellent candidate" to replace Neil Lennon.
The Glasgow giants say they "allowed time for the process, given he’d previously made it clear he was not looking to return to management until this summer at the earliest", but talks have come to a halt for reasons out of both the club's and Howe's control.
Celtic are now moving onto approaching other targets as a long term replacement for Neil Lennon.
John Kennedy took charge of the team during the latter part of the season.
"We had hoped to have announced the manager before providing this update," Celtic said last week, "We do intend to finalise the appointment of the next Celtic manager shortly."
Celtic FC statement:
Following very positive and detailed discussions with Eddie Howe, with the belief that he would be an excellent candidate for the position of Celtic Manager, we allowed time for the process, given he’d previously made it clear he was not looking to return to management until this summer at the earliest.
We can now confirm that Eddie will not be joining the Club, for reasons outwith both his and Celtic’s control.
We wish Eddie success for the future.
As part of the ongoing process we have engaged with a number of candidates. We fully appreciate our fans will be seeking clarity on this matter and we aim, very shortly, to announce the appointment of a Manager with the quality and desire to take Celtic forward and bring further success to our supporters.
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