Before Brendan Rodgers was appointed (officially at least) as the Celtic manager, he was already in discussions with the people already at the club that he wanted to stay on with him for his second stint as the Celtic manager.
It has been very well documented that John Kennedy and Gavin Strachan were both being targeted by Ange Postecoglou to join him at Spurs. But Celtic put the brakes on that and, with intervention from Dermot Desmond, have managed to keep both at the club.
And Brendan Rodgers has spoken specifically about John Kennedy and how he wanted the Assistant Manager to remain with him as his No.2 at Celtic.
Rodgers said [The Sun], “I spoke to John on it initially but at that time I wasn’t in discussion with Celtic.
“We had close relations and I helped him when I was here before. I’ve always been there for him.
“When he spoke to me I was aware of his situation, but as soon as I realised there was a possibility for me to come back here I made sure to call him.
“John’s very underrated. First and foremost he’s a top guy who’s very humble but works tirelessly. He’s got great innovation as a coach and I can trust him.
“When I first came here I did a lot of the coaching for that first year — so everyone could see the philosophy and how we would work.
“But I know I can come in this time and trust him to control that aspect.
“While I set the vision and the strategy and will coach, I know he will understand exactly where I’m at because of our relationship and how we worked before. I’m really happy he decided to stay.”
Kennedy is certainly very highly thought of in Celtic circles. Brendan Rodgers is, clearly, very happy to have convinced him to stay with him as assistant as he looks to build our reputation in Europe and continue our domestic dominance.
And it also looks like Kennedy himself is still happy to continue in his current role at the club. Reports were certain that the coach made his intentions clear that he wanted to go to the EPL with Postecoglou.
Clearly, the lure of working with Rodgers again on his next Celtic project was too good to turn down. It would be interesting to hear from Kennedy about the events of the last few weeks and to get his take on why he eventually decided to stay at the club.
But until then, all we can do is look forward to see what part he will play in Rodgers’ plans to take Celtic to the next level.
In other news, ‘It’s an amazing feeling’: Brendan Rodgers on beating Rangers as the Celtic manager
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