The Athletic’s Celtic-oriented journalist Kieran Devlin was recently talking about John Kennedy’s future at the club.
Devlin was a guest on the latest episode of the Celtic Huddle podcast and the panel discussed different issues involving the Parkhead-based club. They also talked about the possibility of Kennedy becoming the permanent manager at the club following the current interim spell. Devlin revealed that the Scotsman is currently aware of the fact that he’s unpopular amongst some Celtic fans.
Kennedy has been appointed as the interim manager at Parkhead, now that Neil Lennon has left. The Scotsman has previously held multiple roles at Celtic, having managed their Under-19s side. He has also been the assistant manager of the club’s Under-20s team (as per Transfermarkt).
Devlin revealed that he’s talked to people who do rate Kennedy highly and he’s just using the interim period as a means to prove that he’s a good manager.
Should Celtic consider keeping Kennedy permanently?
Yes
No
The journalist stated (34:03) “I was speaking to some people close to him yesterday, John knows he’s unpopular with the section of the support. He can’t ignore it, he’s a very grounded realistic guy. I think he’s taking a look at these games and he’s more looking at them as an opportunity to prove that he’s a better coach and manager than what the season suggests for other clubs to look at.
“We know Hibs were interested in him before they appointed Jack Ross, Celtic were reluctant to lose him then. I think it’s more a case of he’s getting this on his CV that he’s got 8 games as a manager. Everyone I’ve ever spoken to about John Kennedy rates him really highly as a person and as a coach.”
TIF Thoughts on John Kennedy…
While Kennedy has taken over multiple roles at Parkhead, because of which he may know all about the club, he is yet to manage a single club on a full time basis.
The Hoops have been linked with the likes of Rafa Benitez, Roberto Martinez and Steve Clarke. These are experienced managers, with Benitez having won the Champions League and Martinez having won the FA Cup. Clarke helped Scotland qualify for Euro 2020 recently.
Considering the level of the managers that Celtic have been linked with, hiring Kennedy may not be a sensible move.