I knew that I was going to write my Celtic blog tonight, but what should have been a blog on two wins over St. Johnstone (3-0 win)and St. Mirren has now turned into a blog wondering who the new Celtic manager will be after Tony Mowbray was sacked by the club after the embarrassing 4-0 defeat by St. Mirren.

The manager has been under pressure all season because of poor results and falling behind rivals Rangers by anything up to 13 points as the Ibrox club have turned the chase for the title into a one horse race, not even Kauto Star in a taxi or the 54 bus down Paisley Road West could catch Walter Smith's men!

The small matter of fact that Rangers have not paid any money to bring any new faces into freshen up their squad and all their off field problems, makes matter this title defeat all the more depressing to take for the Celtic fans but then again credit must be given to Walter Smith and his men for staying the distance with all that has been thrown at them apart from a defeat against Dundee United in the Cup which means it can no longer be an Old Firm Active Nation Scottish Cup final.(that is no disrespect to Raith Rovers and Ross County, who are both in the semi-finals on merit as are Dundee United.)

As Celtic manager you have big expectations, a worldwide cast of millions to answer to such is the clubs massive fan base and if you don't come up to scratch then 60, 000 fans inside Celtic Park will let you know.

Tony came to Celtic Park with a reputation for having his teams play exciting football and after a good, solid first performance against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, things looked bright for the Celtic fans, little could they know then that the season was to turn into a nightmare.

Many say that Tony Mowbray was an unlucky manager and maybe that is true as the one team they did not want to be drawn against in a Champions League qualifer was top English side Arsenal and this proved to be correct as the Hoops were dumped out 5-1 over the two legs.

But European football was still seen at Celtic Park in the shape of the new look Europa League but that too turned into a nightmare for the Hoops losing 2, drawing 3 and winning only once to crash out of Europe again before Christmas.

Europe would have been a welcome bonus for the club but that dream turned into a nightmare and that nightmare was to continue into their SPL form as the club only won 17 of his 30 league games in charge, simply not good enough!

The final straw came after an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at the hands of St.Mirren, their worse result outside of an Old Firm defeat for over 30 years.Many fans were thinking that St.Mirren would be on the knees after losing the C0-0P Cup Final to 9 man Rangers on Sunday and they simply could not believe what they were watching on ESPN last night!

The team lacked effort, energy, leadership and did not have a clue how to defend or attack for that matter and somehow St.Mirren outfought, out-played and out-thought Celtic and put the misery of losing the Cup Final on Sunday firmly behind them as they turned the screw on Celtic.

The warning signs had been there before at Aberdeen 4-4 draw and two draws with Falkirk as points have been dropped as much as some Chelsea players shorts(allegedly)!

Not getting the better of Rangers in the Old Firm game at Celtic Park despite totally battering them could not have been easy on the manager and losing both matches at Ibrox could not have helped either!

Still trailing their the rivals by 10 points and having played two games more than Rangers, it was clear that the league was a lost cause so it was no shock that Celtic parted company with their manager and his back room staff today.

Both John Reid(Celtic chairman) and Peter Lawwell(Chief Executive) expressed their thanks and good wishes on a very sad day for everyone at Celtic Football Club on the club's website.

"Tony is a fine man and someone who I know is passionate about the club he served so well as a player, clearly we have had a difficult season and results have not been as we would have hoped."
"He is a man who demonstrates decency and integrity in everything he does."

I am sure no matter how bad this season has been, the Celtic support will wish Tony and his family all the very best for the future and thank him for all his efforts whilst he was in charge at Celtic football club-only the men who have been in the chair before him know just how big a job he had at Celtic Park.

He tried to be brave in January by bringing Robbie Keane in on loan as well as shipping out a few players that most of the Celtic supporters wanted to show the door along with wee Gordon, maybe many of you are wondering should he have been given the chance to win the title back? This was a massive gamble by the Celtic board, which unforunately has not paid off and now the search is on for the new manager of Glasgow Celtic Football Club.

The search for now, is over! Neil Lennon will take charge in the short term and he'll be in charge for the next game which is at Celtic Park v Kilmarnock on Saturday.

Neil Lennon played under Martin O'Neill and Gordon Strachan when he wore the green and white hoops between 2000-2007 and he captained the club in his last two season's, he knows what it means to those fans who will be hurting right now and depending how well he does, he may or may not get the job on a full time basis, although there are many names in the hat already!

I won't name all the would be candidates but here are just a few

Neil Lennon odds 11/8
Paul Lambert 6/1
Mark Hughes 6/1
Willie McStay 10/1
Paulo Di Canio 12/1
Roy Aitken 16/1
John Collins 12/1
Roy Keane 16/1
Slaven Bilic 18/1
Lubo Moravcik 25/1
Henrik Larsson 33/1
David Moyes 40/1

or any of these men for a return to the hot seat?
Kenny Dalglish 25/1
Gordon Strachan 33/1
Liam Brady 100/1
John Barnes 1000/1

One man who would have been considered would have been Craig Levein currently 25/1 but more importantly than that he is the current Scotland boss!

Whoever the next Celtic manager is they will know this job is a massive one and the expectations are very high and they will know that the main objective will be winning the SPL title back from Rangers, note to any applicants, if you cannot deliver this main objective, don't bother applying!

Celtic players have let one manager down, they must go out and give their all for the rest of the season and not only get second place but win the Scottish Cup, although after watching Ross County over the two matches against Hibs, they will be no pushover!

Some huge decisions ahead at Celtic, just how bold will the board be in their next appointment of team manager only time will tell.