Scott Brown has directly addressed his visit to see Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros.
Keane is the reported frontrunner for the Celtic vacancy in the summer, and these rumours were accelerated when the legendary former Hoops captain went to see his team play in Budapest.
Jonny Hayes accompanied Brown, adding more interest to the story — though the motive of the visit could easily be explained by the fact that both played under Ferencvaros assistant Stephen Glass at Aberdeen.
Brown has explained his visit to watch Keane in the Hungarian capital.
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Scott Brown: people ‘putting two and two together’ over Robbie Keane visit
On the Not Another Football Podcast with Jackie McNamara and Simon Donnelly, Brown explained: “I was over about two months ago.
“I texted Robbie saying, ‘What’s the chances of me popping over?’, because you have to do a broad experience to go and see the culture and stuff like that at a different club.
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“Obviously, everyone’s then trying to put two and two together. [Keane] has done a fantastic job. I played with Glassy at Hibs.
“It was a good experience. Good to see how Robbie and Glassy worked as well.”
Jonny Hayes has also explained his own presence, saying that the visit was part of a UEFA coach education programme.
Hayes is the current manager of Celtic B, filling in for Stephen McManus who was promoted to Martin O’Neill’s interim coaching staff earlier this season.
The game was a big one for Keane. Ferencvaros, with their title hopes hanging by a thread, faced league leaders FC Gyor in the semi final of the Hungarian Cup.
After a 2-2 draw in regulation time, Gyor missed two chances to win the game in a penalty shootout, but Keane’s men ultimately prevailed. They face Zalaegerszegi TE in the final this month.
Ferencvaros have won the last seven league titles in Hungary, and failure to keep the run going would put the Irishman under serious pressure.
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Robbie Keane’s competition for permanent Celtic role
Keane would likely jump at the opportunity to manage Celtic, but despite being the reported frontrunner, he isn’t alone in the running.
Jens Berthel Askou has also been the bookmakers’ favourite for the hotseat. The Motherwell boss has earned rave reviews for delivering impressive results with a dominant brand of football.
Roberto Martinez and Ange Postecoglou both look like pie-in-the-sky options at this stage, whilst Craig Bellamy is expected to stay at Wales.
As for O’Neill, a successful end to the season would inevitably create a widespread clamour for a permanent appointment, though he has hinted against this so far.
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