Celtic hire Jim McGuinness as performance consultant

Celtic have announced the appointment of part-time performance consultant Jim McGuinness, manager of Gaelic football outfit Donegal.

It has been reported that the 39-year-old will remain in his current post with the All-Ireland winners, while also committing two days a week to the Scottish Premier League club.

McGuinness, who will be working primarily on the youth setup at Celtic Park, thanked manager Neil Lennon for the opportunity to break into professional sport.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for me on an individual level and I'm very thankful to Neil Lennon for giving me this chance and bringing me into the club," said McGuinness.

"Obviously I work in amateur sport and the opportunity to work in professional sport in any capacity is a wonderful chance for me and one I'm very [much] looking forward to."

McGuinness outlined his objective with the Glasgow club, stating that his aim to to improve youth development.

"You are really looking to create a finished product that is good enough to be pushing for the first team and creating a stronger squad at the club," he added. "We will hopefully look at every single player as an individual project and move them forward as best we can.

"We started off at Donegal at a very low base, a low level, but we have worked very hard in moving the thing forward and getting people to up a level and ultimately getting success on the pitch.

"So I suppose Neil [Lennon] was looking in at that and watching that unfold. I was invited over then saw around the facilities and met all the coaching staff and the support people."

The former footballer was present during Celtic's win over Barcelona on Wednesday.