John McGlynn's Falkirk side defeated Celtic on Sunday, adding to a record that includes an invincible league season and two league titles, yet the manager remains easily dismissed as a candidate to replace Martin O'Neill at Celtic Park.
There are valid reasons why many would rule out the Falkirk boss, but the footballing merits on paper at least make him worthy of consideration.
A record built on winning
McGlynn has built Falkirk teams accustomed to winning at a lower level. They did not lose a game when cruising to the League One title in 2023/24, then followed that by winning the Championship and guiding the Bairns back to the top flight in 2024/25, scooping the PFA Manager of the Year award for the third time.
Handling the pressure of a title race is checked off. The pressure at Celtic is a different animal, but plenty of candidates under consideration will not have anything like it on their CVs.
McGlynn has handled Falkirk's return to the big time after ten years away remarkably well. A top six finish beat realistic predictions, especially after they were widely tipped for the drop. Falkirk get the ball down, move it quickly, score goals and press hard without it. Give McGlynn a higher calibre of player and the same approach could produce something special.
Inside the Celtic machine
McGlynn has been inside the Celtic machine, becoming the Hoops' first team scout under Ronny Deila in 2015 before Brendan Rodgers' arrival changed his outlook on football.
He has said: "Brendan Rodgers, who I've got a really good relationship with and respect him so much, he's taught me so much. He's actually helped the teams that I've worked with since then, since I left Celtic. I was in a scout role, an opposition analyst role, I learned so much there. I went to Raith Rovers and played the same kind of style, or tried to play the same kind of style with different players obviously. Raith Rovers played some amazing football, bit unlucky not to get to the Premiership one year and then going to Falkirk and managing to do what we've done is absolutely incredible."
Rodgers, who faced McGlynn when thrown in at Hearts, recognised what his experience brings and why it is often overlooked. Speaking in 2024, he said: "Sometimes what can happen is that experience kind of gets overlooked because there's maybe a trend for a younger manager to come in with fresh ideas and new ideas. But I still think you can be really experienced and have a young mind. And that young mind with experience can really take clubs forward. There's absolutely no doubt that what he's produced in the two jobs since he left here has been absolutely brilliant. The style of football, the game he looks to play, it's very, very impressive. So that opportunity will, if it hasn't, then I'm pretty sure that that would come for him."
Rodgers added: "Look at (Gian Piero) Gasperini, 66 years of age, still a young mind, fresh and really driving on the vision of his club there. As long as you have that young mind, but fresh and experienced, then that can really help any club. And John is one of those guys that get a wonderful enthusiasm for the game, a really authentic guy who can take teams forward."
Backing from Lennon and Levein
Neil Lennon, installed by one bookmaker as the 3/1 favourite to replace O'Neill and return for a third time, talked up McGlynn's credentials last season. "He's one of the best coaches in the game here and he's got longevity," Lennon told BBC Scotland. "He should be in the conversation for the next Celtic manager as well. Whether that would appeal to John or whether I'm throwing him under the bus - I apologise to the Falkirk people as well - but that's how highly I rate John."
McGlynn has been touted for other big jobs, with Hearts, Dundee Utd and Aberdeen all mentioned at one point. After Steve Clarke decided to call it quits following the World Cup, McGlynn's name came up again. Craig Levein, who had McGlynn on his Hearts coaching staff, said: "He's without doubt the most meticulous manager I've ever seen. He goes into great detail. Just look at the evidence. John McGlynn plays the type of football that Scottish people would like to see. He also plays with pace and aggression, I'm a huge fan."
The SFA opted to recruit Sebastien Pocognoli instead.
Perception and age
Age is one factor in the reluctance. At 64, McGlynn is not likely to be the man for the long-term, though Celtic keep returning to a man ten years his senior who has an option to extend his current deal by another year next summer.
A far less valid concern is perception. McGlynn is not a fashionable name and does not look the part of a modern football manager. He is a former plumber from Wallyford, fond of a baseball cap and transition specs. Berwick Rangers was about as glamorous as it got as a player, though Brendan Rodgers did not exactly hit the heights before turning to coaching either.
McGlynn has shown character off the pitch. After Raith Rovers signed former striker David Goodwillie, who a civil court found guilty of rape, McGlynn admitted they got it very wrong: "We completely made a mistake. We didn't anticipate the level of fallout. It was an enormous error and we're sorry. We're not bad people. I'm not a bad person. I just want a chance to make it right. I'm a husband, I'm a father. I get it."
Whether McGlynn is a big enough personality to handle Celtic's expectations is known only to those closest to him. It is understood that was a concern when Hearts drew up their shortlist before appointing Derek McInnes. McGlynn will probably not be a serious contender for the Parkhead job, and he is in an excellent place at Falkirk, secure in the knowledge he will most likely leave only when he decides it is time. Ruling him out completely for the most superficial of reasons does the man and coach a massive disservice.
