Scottish Cup Final: Celtic have the chance in today's Scottish Cup final against Dundee United to add a final trophy to the silverware-laden Martin O'Neill era, but beneath that lustre of success the substance of the legacy the departing manager will leave his successor Gordon Strachan is far from bright.
As he plots how to wrest the Premier League title back from Rangers next season, Strachan will find an ageing squad, which will be further depleted by departures this summer, and only limited funds to conduct what observers say needs to be an extensive recruitment campaign.
The rebuilding project for the diminutive former Southampton manager will be the most significant playing upheaval at the club for many years and the former Celtic manager Billy McNeill said: "Gordon has a hell of a job on his hands. It's almost mission impossible."
Another former Celtic hero, Tommy Gemmell, who signed Strachan for Dundee and later sold him to Aberdeen, agreed the new manager faces an awesome task. "It is a simple fact that even if the playing staff remain the same - and we all know it won't - then Gordon would still need six new players," declared the Lisbon Lion.
"It has all become a bit stale and the club needs a breath of fresh air. Celtic need new legs, a different attitude and more flair and all that doesn't come cheaply. Martin knew change was needed and as far as I can see each and every department of the side needs freshening up.
"I think Celtic will win this weekend's Scottish Cup final but that should not disguise the fact that major surgery is required and if Gordon has done his homework he'll recognise that."
Although a Celtic board which has been prudent in the past has indicated the purse strings will be loosened, it remains to be seen by how much.
"The directors have occasionally used the fact that they have shareholders to be accountable to as a smokescreen but now they will have to speculate to accumulate," added Gemmell.
O'Neill arguably kept faith with some players for too long. The team that started against Motherwell last weekend in the match that ultimately cost them the championship has basically been the side over the past few years. Continuity is one thing, being past your sell-by date is another.
"This is a tiring squad," noted former player-turned-television presenter Charlie Nicholas. "It is getting old." The clear-out will not, though, be confined to veterans. Momo Sylla, about to sign for Leicester City, David Fernandez, Ulrik Laursen, Stephane Henchoz, Magnus Hedman and Joos Valgaeren have all failed to contribute significantly this season and may well be shown the door.
Paul Lambert will leave after this weekend to become manager of Livingston. Rab Douglas, McNamara and Neil Lennon are out of contract and their futures remain undecided, and Bobo Balde is wanted by a number of Premiership clubs.
Craig Bellamy, on loan from Newcastle United, is unlikely to stay. And even Shaun Maloney, considered one of the up and coming Celts, has intimated he wants regular first-team football and will review his situation in the summer. Another young player once tipped for the top is John Kennedy but he is out of the equation through long-term injury.
Should they all go it would leave Strachan seriously short in terms of personnel. He would have only young David Marshall as a goalkeeper, for instance, although the rumour mill is speculating on the possibility of a move for either Southampton's Antti Niemi or Roy Carroll, who has been released by Manchester United.
The only experienced defender may be Stanislav Varga; in midfield Stilian Petrov may remain, as will Alan Thompson; and up front Chris Sutton and John Hartson will be there but at 32 and 30 respectively are not getting any younger. The young players for whom O'Neill had high hopes - Craig Beattie, Ross Wallace and Aiden McGeady - have made only fitful contributions.
Strachan has worked in straitened circumstances before but even he may be a little surprised at the playing staff he inherits. The one encouraging aspect is that after years of denying O'Neill major funds the club's directors do appear ready to spend; there is talk of a shares issue, and a big-money sponsorship deal with Nike will kick in from July 1st.
It is all an astonishing backdrop to the not insignificant matter of this afternoon's Scottish Cup final. Celtic meet Dundee United only days after the Tannadice club appointed Gordon Chisholm as manager, although his step up from caretaker was rather lost in the Parkhead furore.
O'Neill's team are overwhelming favourites to give him a winning send-off - after this there will be only McNamara's testimonial against the Republic of Ireland tomorrow - and he has no injury problems to consider.
Chisholm, though, showed yesterday he is unfazed by his club's underdogs tag and attacked Celtic for calling into question the appointment of assistant referee Andy Davis.
Davis was at the centre of a storm late in the Premier League season when he flagged for a penalty which gave Rangers a crucial injury-time victory over Hearts at Tynecastle.
Conspiracy theories, a fairly common occurrence in Scottish football, proliferated and when the SFA listed him for the Hampden match Celtic expressed their concern.
"It's very unfair because Celtic weren't even involved in that match and it's not right to put him under extra pressure," said Chisholm, who has the defender Paul Ritchie back after a groin injury.
Guardian Service
1 Ensure he gets the backroom staff he wants with his previous number two at Southampton and Coventry City, Gary Pendry, tipped to go to Parkhead.
2 Resolve the futures of out-of-contract players such as Neil Lennon, Rab Douglas and Jackie McNamara; he may well decide the experience the trio offer is invaluable.
3 Identify transfer targets and move quickly to secure some big names to appease a Celtic support still shell-shocked at the loss of the Scottish Premier League title and O'Neill.
4 Finalise pre-season plans that had to be put on hold because of the tight league finish. Celtic will have to play in the second qualifying stage of the Champions League in late July.
5 Strachan must ensure Celtic hit the ground running at the start of the new season to get the fans, who vilified him when he was an Aberdeen player, on his side. Winning through to the Champions League group stage would be a good start.
