[long_read]

Preston North End manager Alex Neil has emerged as a candidate for the Celtic job, although he's recently stated his desire to remain at Deepdale and ruled himself out of the running.

He's claimed in the Scottish Sun that he has 'no thoughts' of moving club, despite having now been linked with both Rangers and Celtic at one stage in his career.

Neil is still only 37-years-old, despite having taken Norwich to the Premier League as well as guiding Hamilton Academical from the Scottish First Division to third in the SPFL.

He's now on course to take Preston into the top half of the table, with only a run of poor form at the beginning of the season ruling them out of a serious play-off challenge.

That's perhaps one of the reasons he wants to stay put, with Preston doing well there's an outside chance he could take them into the English top flight. As Brendan Rodgers demonstrated recently, a spell in our Premier League is highly desirable, even with a far smaller club than Celtic.

Is Neil right to rule himself out of the role? FLW have found three reasons he really shouldn't be too hasty in making the choice.

[snack_break title="It's Celtic"]

The SPFL might not be the most challenging division in the world, but Celtic are one of the biggest and best supported.

They're a huge club with a rich history and although domestic success comes naturally, there's a huge challenge to re-establish them as a European force.

Imagine being the manager that does that. Neil would be revered as a hero for the rest of his life if he simply put them in the latter stages of the Europa League.

[snack_break title="Can only take Preston so far"]

He's done a decent job at Deepdale, he truly has, but how far can he go?

If he's challenging top six next season, January will come and he'll be outspent by the big guns.

There's only so far he can take Preston, which will limit the level of his achievement.

[snack_break title="Trophies"]

Everyone wants to win trophies, surely? Celtic might win more than their fair share, but they're not handed to them on a plate.

Neil could spend two seasons north of the border and have a brand new cabinet installed at his home for all the silverware he picks up.

There's a fear of failure, it's probably what makes him apprehensive, but if he goes to Parkhead he wins at least one trophy every season guaranteed.

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