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Lawwell blow as Celtic candidate Enzo Maresca accepts Leicester City job offer

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Dermot Desmond (L) and Chief Executive of Celtic Peter Lawwell look on prior to the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 first leg match between Celtic FC and FC Internazionale Milano at Celtic Park Stadium on February 19, 2015. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Leicester City have reached a verbal agreement with Manchester City assistant manager Enzo Maresca to take over as manager. The Manchester City No 2 was yesterday offered the job at Brendan Rodgers’ old club and today has verbally accepted the offer with various paperwork formalities now set to be completed.

Enzo Maresca was of course in the running for the Celtic job, vacated by Ange Postecoglou as he headed to England to manage mid-table Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. That vacancy is set to be filled imminently by Brendan Rodgers who is set for a second spell at Celtic after his hugely successful period in charge between May 2016 and February 2019.

(L to R) Manchester City’s Spanish assistant manager Carlos Vicens, Manchester City’s Italian assistant manager Enzo Maresca, Manchester City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola and Manchester City’s Spanish assistant manager Rodolfo Borrell attend a training session on September 13, 2022. (Photo by LINDSEY PARNABY/AFP via Getty Images)

Rodgers was the front-runner for the Celtic job and has obviously been unattached since he was rather surprising sacked by Leicester a few months ago. His long term assistant manager Chris Davies, who followed Rodgers to Leicester in early 2019 also left the club at that time and was thought to be going it alone as a manager with Swansea City the likely destination.

However in a surprising twist in events, Davies instead is now also heading to Tottenham where he will work under Ange Postecoglou, in a role that the Australian appeared to have earmarked for the Celtic Assistant Manager John Kennedy, who initially wanted to join Postecoglou at Spurs but could now be staying at Celtic to be re-united with Brendan Rodgers, this time as his No.2.

Kennedy is highly respected by the Celtic players so that will be a positive outcome.

So while much is up in the air, all we know for certain is that Ange Postecolgou is now the manager of Spurs with all the other pieces in the puzzle beginning to fall into place. Hopefully a Rodgers and Kennedy announcement from Celtic Park is not too far away.

Enzo Maresca was interviewed for the Celtic job and by all accounts came across very well. But his very limited and somewhat unhappy experience as a manager in his own right is likely to have counted against him. And with a tried and tested former Celtic manager unattached and available there was always only going to be one winner and that is the candidate that Dermot Desmond backed, with Enzo Maresca reportedly having the support of the Celtic Chairman and indeed his son Mark, who knows Maresca well from his time at City Group and was also instrumental in the club’s decision to appoint Ange Postecoglou in June 2021 after Eddie Howe  eventually rejected the opportunity to become the manager of Celtic.

If that has put one or both Lawwell noses out of joint then that’s way down our list of things to be concerned about. Times they are a changin’. Now hurry up and announce Brendan and big John Kennedy!

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The Celtic Star founder and editor David Faulds has edited numerous Celtic books over the past decade or so including several from Lisbon Lions, Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and Jim Craig. Earliest Celtic memories include a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk

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3 Comments

  1. Pcelt on

    I’ve said all along if it is Brendan Rodgers and it looks imminent,lawell has to be sacked or resign as there seems to be too much animosity between them ,which is no good for the club.

  2. Pan on

    It will be very embarrassing if the Rodgers thing doesn’t go through.
    Get it done now or move on quickly.
    The best candidate is in Norway.

  3. Paulo on

    Please stop pretending you are Celtic Supporters and this is new for Celtic Supporters. Nothing but Click Bate nonsense with little knowledge.

    There is no blow at all as Maresca was not even in the Top 2. Dermot has made his preferred choice and now likely a matter of when not if