Most successful Celtic managers ever

We examine the most successful managers in the history of Celtic Football Club.

Most successful Celtic managers of all time

• Billy McNeill (8 trophies)

Stats:

• Scottish league titles - 4
• Scottish Cups - 3
• Scottish League Cups - 1
• Win ratio - 59.76%

An all-time great of Celtic having lifted the European Cup as club captain in 1967 following the Hoops' victory over Inter in the Lisbon final, Billy McNeill also enjoyed two decorated spells as the Glasgow giants' manager.

First appointed as Celtic boss in August 1978, McNeill won five major trophies in five seasons including three Scottish league titles before departing for Manchester City in 1983 amidst disagreements with the Parkhead club's board.

McNeill returned to Celtic just four years later in 1987 and guided the Hoops to the league and Scottish Cup double in his first season back at the helm in the club's centenary year.

The former central defender led Celtic to the Scottish Cup again in 1989 before two unsuccessful seasons without silverware led to McNeill's exit in May 1991.

• Neil Lennon (10 trophies)

Stats:

• Scottish league titles - 5
• Scottish Cups - 4
• Scottish League Cups - 1
• Win ratio - 70.02%

Another ex-Celtic captain to have managed the club on two separate occasions, Neil Lennon was able to rack up double digits in trophies in the Parkhead dugout.

Initially appointed as caretaker manager of Celtic following the departure of Tony Mowbray in March 2010, former Northern Ireland international Lennon was awarded the job on a permanent basis at the end of the 2009/10 campaign.

A winner of 11 trophies at Celtic Park as a player, Lennon guided the Bhoys to five major trophies as manager during a four year stay between 2010 and 2014.

Lennon returned to manage Celtic for a second time following the departure of Brendan Rodgers in February 2019, steering the club to another five trophies before being sacked during a dismal 2020/21 campaign which saw the Hoops' attempts to win a 10th Scottish Premiership title in a row thwarted by Steven Gerrard's Rangers.

• Brendan Rodgers (10 trophies)

Stats:

• Scottish league titles - 3
• Scottish Cups - 3
• Scottish League Cups - 4
• Win ratio - Active manager

Like McNeill and Lennon, Brendan Rodgers has managed Celtic on two occasions and delivered an abundance of trophies during both spells.

Ex-Liverpool manager Rodgers took the reins at Celtic in May 2016 following the exit of Ronny Deila and made a seismic impact at Parkhead - leading the Celts to a domestic Treble without losing a Scottish Premiership match in his debut campaign.

Northern Irishman Rodgers guided Celtic to a second successive Treble in 2017/18 before controversially leaving for Leicester City midway through the 2018/19 season.

Rodgers would be back at Celtic Park in June 2023, replacing the outgoing Ange Postecoglou on a three-year contract.

A manager renowned for his possession-oriented coaching philosophy, Rodgers is thriving once more at Celtic having inspired the Hoops to the domestic Double in his first season of his second tenure in 2023/24.

• Jock Stein (25 trophies)

Stats:

• European Cups - 1
• Scottish league titles - 10
• Scottish Cups - 8
• Scottish League Cups - 6
• Win ratio - 70.14%

Widely revered as the greatest Celtic manager of all time, the legendary Jock Stein was the mastermind behind the Hoops' famous European Cup success of 1967.

Landing the Celtic job in March 1965 following spells in charge of Dunfermline Athletic and Hibernian, Stein quickly inspired the Glasgow giants to their first Scottish Cup success in 11 years when overcoming his former employers Dunfermline 3-2 in the Hampden final.

The 1966/67 campaign would ultimately prove the zenith of Stein's managerial career as Celtic stormed to a phenomenal quadruple of trophies, becoming the first UK-based side to win the European Cup after victory over Inter in the Lisbon final.

Stein stood down as Celtic manager after 13 years in charge in 1978 before accepting a job in English football with Leeds United.

• Willie May (30 trophies)

Stats:

• Scottish league titles - 16
• Scottish Cups - 14
• Win ratio - 64.44%

Statistically the most successful Celtic manager ever, Willie Maley was in charge of the Glasgow giants for a staggering 43 years between 1897 and 1940.

Maley orchestrated a talented young Celtic side which swept to six league titles in a row between 1905 and 1910 - a feat which took until the 1960s to be topped.

Born in Newry in County Down, Ireland, Maley also masterminded a 62-match unbeaten streak in charge of the Celts between 1915 and 1917, a record which was surpassed 100 years later in 2017 with Brendan Rodgers at the helm.