Celtic have been told that they will require to pay £5m to get Kieran McKenna out of his contract at Ipswich Town. The Irishman has emerged as a potential replacement for Brendan Rodgers but he is believed to be the highest paid manager in the Championship after receiving a bumper deal to replacing with The Tractor Boys.
As reported by Record Sport, the 39-year-old will not come cheap with Ipswich demanding £5m to let him enter talks with Celtic.
The report continues that interim boss Martin O’Neill has endorsed ex-Man Utd coach McKenna to take over at Celtic Park. In his interviews, MON has spoken about getting a young coaching with a good CV.
Celtic are on the lookout for a permanent manager after the shock departure of Brendan Rodgers. Supporters were utterly stunned by the double statement released on Monday evening which confirmed the resignation of Rodgers followed by the Dermot Desmond statement from the club website, which flayed Rodgers. It remains to be seen whether Rodgers will respond to the claims by the major shareholder.
McKenna has emerged as an early favourite along with ex-Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou. The club will hope MON and Shaun Maloney can steady the ship ahead of the game against Falkirk then the Premier Sports Cup Semi Final against Rangers.
McKenna now struggling at Ipswich makes him good enough for Celtic? Why? Because he’s Irish? He’s not good enough for Celtic in my opinion, even if he comes recommended by MON.
We’ve already seen too much of this thinking at Celtic with examples such as bringing in an unfit player who couldn’t get a game for Crystal Palace but was brought in and immediately gets priority ahead of Greg Taylor, a Scotland international, who was on the cusp of leaving at the time.
So rather than going out of their way to make sure we kept him at Celtic, the Ebeneezer Scrooges on the Celtic board let a promising young talent leave in favour of bringing in a damp squib on a temporary basis who couldn’t command a game for a low-level English club. WOW! And they call that “progress”.
McKenna may have had initial success with Ipswich but these days he’s not so hot. And Ipswich are said to be demanding a hefty compensation fee for McKenna and his backroom staff? We need a manager with stature to progress our club, not one still learning the ropes. And certainly not one who would just be a board yes man.
At this early stage in his managerial career the Celtic job is far too big for McKenna.
Agreed 100%
Ange, Klopp or Knutsen
The only way is down it would seem.
Surely the Board recognise that a manager with European experience, management of significant player squads of International calibre, and a proven record of winning games are the fundamental pre-requisites of any long term managerial targets?
How to reverse from success and do it in as embarrassing a way as possible. PLC.