Celtic must be respectful of John Kennedy’s wishes after decades of service

It’s now being reported that John Kennedy has told the Celtic heirarchy that he wishes to join Ange Postecoglou Tottenham Hotspur this summer. The Australian coach left the club today to take over the struggling English Premier League side and it is thought that he wants to bring his Hoops backroom colleagues with him.

The Daily Mail is reporting that Kennedy has told senior figures at Celtic Park that he wishes to pursue the opportunity Ange is offering down in England. Gavin Strachan is also wanted by our former boss, along with analyst Greg Wallace, whom Postecoglou rates extremely highly.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – JULY 18: Celtic assistant manager John Kennedy is seen during the Celtic Champions Training Day at Celtic Park on July 18, 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Despite this, it is thought that majority shareholder, Dermot Desmond, Chairman, Peter Lawwell, and CEO, Michael Nicholson are not at all pleased at the concept of losing all of the backroom staff in one fatal swoop. Kennedy is particularly of interest as it is thought he will be able to maintain continuity for any new incoming name to the Parkhead hot seat.

It even states that the Celtic Board are willing to play hardball over their backroom staff in this instance with Ange, Daniel Levy and Tottenham Hotspur. It remains to be seen if Kennedy will indeed be released from his contract and the next few days should be curious.

John Kennedy and Stephen McManus sign for Celtic as 14 and 15 years olds in February 1998. John Kennedy became the youngest ever Celt when Kenny Dalglish gave him his debut in April 2000 against Motherwell in a 4-0 win at Celtic Park

If John Kennedy isn’t being considered for the Celtic job at this stage, after working under four Celtic managers, then it’s fair enough to allow him to leave and experience a new challenge in the English Premier League. If Celtic can get adequate compensation all the better but the important thing is to respect John Kennedy’s position after more than two decades of continued service to Celtic.

Perhaps working at Tottenham will gear him up for a shot at the Celtic job in a few years, after all we are currently considering the assistant manager at Manchester City are we not?

Paul Gillespie

About Author

I'm a Garngad Bhoy through and through. My first ever Celtic game was a friendly against Italian side Parma at Celtic Park, in 2002. Currently a student of English Literature and Education at the University of Strathclyde for my sins. Favourite game would be a toss up between beating Manchester United with that Naka freekick, or the game against the Oldco when Hesselink scored in the dying seconds. I'm still convinced Cal Mac is wasted playing that far back.

2 Comments

  1. If Kennedy wants to go, I’d hold the door open for him! There’s no place in Paradise for anyone who wants to be elsewhere!
    I have never trusted Kennedy and always felt that he stabbed Neil Lennon in the back.
    If he has asked to leave, then it is a very simple question to answer! “Yes”.