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On this date in 2000, John Barnes was dismissed from his position as manager of Celtic.
The club’s choice to separate from the ex-Liverpool and England forward occurred 48 hours following a humiliating defeat in the Scottish Cup to Inverness, who is in the second-tier league.
Barnes was the leader for a brief period of eight months and was responsible for managing 29 games.
The team had been under increasing pressure after losing five out of eight games during the fall season, including a 4-2 loss against Rangers in Barnes’ debut Old Firm match.
The performance did not significantly improve, and the unexpected defeat in the cup, which led to the headline “Super Caley Go Ballistic Celtic Are Atrocious,” was the last straw.
Although he started his rule with 12 victories in his initial 13 matches, Barnes faced difficulties in gaining the support of fans. The 3-1 loss to Caley was considered by many as the team’s worst outcome in 30 years.
Kenny Dalglish, the director of football, expressed that he believes John Barnes is a commendable person and will likely become a highly successful football club manager in the future. However, it is unfortunate that it will not be with Celtic.
Dalglish, who had recruited his former Liverpool player Barnes to Parkhead, assumed a temporary role for the rest of the season.
He led the team to victory in the League Cup before Martin O’Neill was hired as Barnes’ permanent replacement in the summer.
Dalglish’s prediction that Barnes would have a successful managerial career did not come true. Barnes faced difficulties trying to make a comeback in the game after his unsuccessful time at Celtic. It wasn’t until 2008, when he became the manager of the Jamaica national team, that he finally returned to managing.
The next summer, he was named the head coach of Tranmere, but was fired after only winning two out of 11 games in the league during the beginning of the 2009-10 season.
Source: independent.co.uk
