Ex Man Utd coach 'high on list' of Celtic manager candidates as Rangers 'could' have got Premier League boss
The former Manchester United coach is wanted at Celtic and a Rangers possibility now works at Premier League level.
A former Manchester United coach is claimed to be high on Celtic’s next manager agenda - as Rangers are told a Premier League boss could have been a boss option for them.
Celtic are looking for a new gaffer after Brendan Rodgers’ resignation, just after Danny Rohl replaced Russell Martin in the head coach hotseat at Ibrox. One man linked to the Premiership champions is Kieran McKenna, who became assistant to Jose Mourinho at Man Utd and also worked under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick before leaving to become Ipswich Town manager.
He guided the Tractor Boys to the Premier League and his style of play has been applauded. Former Scotland international Kevin Gallacher is tuned in on developments north and south of the border, having featured heavily in England as a player, and states McKenna is way up on Celtic’s manager agenda. Weighing up options available to gaffers now, he says Sean Dyche could have gone to Rangers, before eventually taking post at Nottingham Forest.
Was Sean Dyche a Rangers manager option?
Gallacher wrote in the Sunday Post: “Another thing we're also seeing is managers being quite patient, being happy to wait for the opportunity they feel will work well for them rather than just jumping at the first one to come along. Rodgers waited a long time before he came back and, when he did, it was to Celtic, where he had history.
“Dyche could have gone to Rangers maybe but was prepared to wait his time and got Nottingham Forest. In some cases, it is just not worth their time with clubs sticking them on gardening leave instead of paying them up what they are owed in a lump sum. The advantage for the clubs is they get to spread out the cost of their liability over a longer period. They also know that if anyone wants to employ the coach before the end of his gardening leave, they get to stop making the payments.
“A manager who has been sacked might think: 'My job is over after just six months, but I have a two-and-a-half-year contract that is worth £4 million. If I cannot get a job that is worth £4m, what is the point of taking the job? Unless it is a job I really fancy'. So, you just sit, and you just sit, and you can sit and wait and you can pick and choose.
Who will be the next Celtic manager
“But the longer you are out the game, the more rival contenders might be coming into consideration. As much as I do not believe managers are penalised for failing at their most recent jobs the way they used to be, your status can fall over time. Different types of managers come in and out of fashion.
You might be in the in-demand group when you start your gardening leave and out of it by the time you finish. Winning never goes out of fashion, though, that is a constant. It is why Celtic have turned to Martin O'Neill at the age of 73 to be their caretaker boss.
“It's why, also, another Northern Irishman, Kieran McKenna, much younger at 39, is high on the list to be the next manager of the club. I have seen a fair bit of his work at Ipswich. He has done well there and it would be fascinating to see what he would make of the opportunities Celtic could present him.”