Celtic still want David O'Leary to be their next manager. That is the case even though Celtic's chief executive Allan MacDonald travelled to Spain on Wednesday to begin talks with the Real Betis coach Guus Hiddink. MacDonald was still in Seville yesterday trying to come up with a package that would tempt Hiddink, Holland's former manager, to move to Parkhead this summer. MacDonald's chance of succeeding, however, has been undermined not just by Kenny Dalglish's disclosure yesterday that Hiddink will not think about moving until the summer, but also by the important fact that he flew to Andalucia without the full support of the Celtic board. As was revealed in The Irish Times last Saturday, O'Leary is the choice of those who wield power at Celtic.

MacDonald, who appointed the Barnes and Dalglish partnership, is said to have suffered a loss of credibility over the course of Celtic's miserable season. Having allowed Barnes to spend Stg£14 million, the biggest outlay in Celtic's history, the club have already registered nine league defeats, the worst record for seven seasons.

Celtic were expected to make a formal approach to Leeds United for O'Leary this week but were sensitive to the events before Leeds's match with Galatasaray. Aware of O'Leary's close relationship with the Leeds fans and his chairman Peter Ridsdale, the timing of an official Celtic approach has been delayed, but he remains the preferred candidate.

An edict has come down from the top at Celtic which is believed to state that O'Leary should be recruited "at any price". O'Leary, who has had a distressing week and who wants to focus on the remainder of Leeds's season before considering his future, is said to have been made aware of Celtic's intentions. Like Hiddink, facing a relegation battle with Betis, O'Leary has other matters on his mind.