RODGERS tried to take John Kennedy to Leicester City with him but Celtic’s new Assistant Manager never considered abandoning ship even for one second. The former Celtic Star whose career ended prematurely through that horrible knee injury picked up while playing in a friendly for Scotland, has forged a good career behind the scenes at Celtic since being forced to hang up his boots.
This week’s events gave him an opportunity to pay Celtic back for the loyalty that the club has shown to him and he was then rewarded by being given a promotion to Assistant Manager.
And having worked closely with Rodgers he is ideally placed to maintain the best bits of what the Irishman brought to the club – and with all the anger, it is easy to dismiss it, but Rodgers did improve things at Celtic and we should be ready to continue with the key elements – and Kennedy brings that skillset to the table going forward.
“There wasn’t a moment when I might have gone too. I’ve had a really close attachment with Celtic. A lot of people say it and that kind of stuff,” Kennedy said yesterday in his press interview.
“But I’ve spent a large chunk of my life here in terms of being a player and working behind the scenes. There’s certainly an emotional attachment there. To leave Celtic would be very difficult for me.
“This is another great opportunity for me to move up and progress, and hopefully finish the job that’s been started. Brendan Rodgers did a terrific job in his two-and-a-half years here. The club is in a very good place. The staff are all very solid and reliable.
“Neil Lennon is coming into an environment in which he will flourish. He’s going to add to it in terms of his personality and how he deals with things. Everyone will pull together to do well.
“There will be a lot of emotion out there. But what I want to do is make sure we spin it positively. Brendan had a terrific time and was very successful. We are very grateful for that. But we are a massive club and we move forward. We’ve got a job to do. I’m sure the fans will get behind the team, and that’s the most important thing.
“I had a great relationship with Brendan. The first I spoke with him about this was last Monday morning. He said he was probably going to speak with Leicester and to get ready to take the team.
“Peter Lawwell arrived at the training ground in the afternoon, discussed the possible plans, and told me I was wanted here. He told me to prepare the team, and if there was going to be an appointment I would be assistant manager.
“When the players came in, it was a case of: ‘What’s going on’?
“So I was honest with them and told them the situation and what was possibly going to happen.
“Brendan leaving might turn a few heads and create uncertainty, but players still have to go and deliver success.
“A manager leads it and will be the face of things. But players are the most important people at any club, as they are the ones who step on the pitch and have to deliver for the manager.
“I’ve seen numerous good managers that players don’t perform for and they are out of a job. Brendan Rodgers was a fantastic manager with a fantastic group of players, and it clicked so we were successful.
“Players are a huge part of that. The support behind them with the backroom staff is stable as well. We’re in a good place. Often when these things happen, it can be a moment of crisis or turmoil, and players aren’t confident and things are all over the place.
“But behind the scenes things are very stable. Lenny will add to that, put his stamp on it and we kick on. I’ve seen Neil work, I’ve seen Ronny Deila and Gordon Strachan work, and from all these guys you take different things.
“Brendan’s attention to detail and his planning was very thorough. That allowed everyone to be clear on what we were doing. Lenny has come in now and seen how we operate as a staff, and he’s delighted with how things are. He doesn’t want to change that.
“In terms of what we stand for, the stature and support, we still see ourselves as a giant. I am maybe biased, because I’ve been here my whole career and I’m a Celtic fan. But I see it as a massive club. Other people will see it differently.
“But what stamps it for me is that even when a huge character, leader and manager like Brendan Rodgers has left the building, the response I saw in the stadium and around the training ground was positive.
“People almost thought: ‘No, we’ve got a club to continue running here’. While there’s a change at the top, there’s a lot going on behind that.
“The support and the staff have been terrific since Brendan left, and pulled together. It’s a strong group. The response from the players on the training pitch has been terrific as well. They know they have got a job to do in terms of living up to the expectation of the fans.
“Brendan came in and made a lot of them aware of that. The squad know what’s expected here, that hasn’t changed, and they will continue to do their jobs.”
