With Fabrizio Romano reporting that Ange Posteoglou to Tottenham Hotspur is all but a done deal now, it is also being suggested that the current Celtic manager wants to take his assistant, John Kennedy with him.
In what would be a break from the norm, the Australian rarely takes any of his current backroom team with him whenever he moves onto a new club. And it is clear that if these reports come to fruition, Postecoglou has a real trust in Kennedy to help him deliver success at Tottenham should he officially take the job.
Why John Kennedy may turn down the chance to join Ange Postecoglou
The Celtic assistant manager has made no secret of the fact that he has a strong desire to manage the club one day.
Back in 2021, Kennedy was the interim manager after Neil Lennon left the club and confessed then that his ultimate ambition is to become the permanent manager of Celtic one day. Kennedy said, “I have enjoyed it. It has been good. I will do what’s right for the club. It’s a big club and you cannot take anything for granted. I know what I do here and what I can offer.
“Yes, it will be (his ambition to be a Celtic manager one day). But I’ve never been in a rush. I finished playing a long time ago and I’ve been working at things. As long as the environment is good…I have had opportunities to go and do my own thing but I felt I was in a good place here with good people.”
The current Celtic Assistant Manager has had a long apprenticeship at Celtic working under some excellent managers. Brendan Rodgers tipped him to become to take over the club after Kennedy impressed during the Northern Irishman’s tenure.
As did the former manager, Davie Hay after what he witnessed from Kennedy during his early years as a youth coach.
There is no doubt that Kennedy has something about him. You don’t get the kind of seal of approval from the likes of Ange Postecoglou or Brendan Rodgers for nothing.
But is now the right time to give him his opportunity? The club is in the most healthiest position it has ever been financially. The squad is packed with talented players and has great depth about it. All Kennedy would be required to do is to continue the work of Postecoglou and fine-tune the team with some new additions.
But, for me, I don’t think now is the right time for Kennedy. Following in the footsteps of Ange Postecoglou would be a big ask and would add unnecessary pressure on him. Kennedy needs to go and gain more experience as a number one at another club before he should be considered for the Celtic job.
At this moment in time, the Celtic job is no place for a coach with no proper experience of managing a club like Celtic. No doubt Kennedy may be in the frame sometime in the future, but now is not that time.
In other news, Fabrizio Romano; Tottenham reach ‘verbal agreement’ with Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou
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