“We’ve tied him to a chair upstairs and have got a couple of security guards at his door,” John Kennedy

Sitting in the Zoom waiting room ahead of today’s Celtic Media Conference waiting with the mainstream media to discuss tomorrow’s Scottish Cup Fifth round match against St Mirren at Celtic Park, we were given an update by Celtic’s Public Relations and Communication Officer that the player would be along shortly and that Ange Postecolgou was not doing media duties this week so John Kennedy would be standing in.

The text on the email the club sent this morning was, in retrospect carefully worded. The disappointment was apparent, with various Leeds United questions all prepared and ready to put to the Celtic manager.

Celtic FC V ST Mirren FC – Scottish Cup, Saturday 11 February. KO 1730 – Today’s press conference to preview the above match will start at 1245 with the player.

Not that they didn’t ask John Kennedy and Celtic’s Assistant Manager gave such a brilliant answer.

🍀 "We’ve just tied him to the chair upstairs…"

Celtic assistant John Kennedy has his say on Ange Postecoglou being linked with Leeds as he insists the manager is "firmly focused" on the Parkhead club 🔽 pic.twitter.com/CIt8Sw0dUy

— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) February 10, 2023

“We’ve tied him to a chair upstairs and have got a couple of security guards at his door,” John Kennedy joked. “There’s always speculation. I think it’s credit to the manager and the job he’s done here. It’s a bit like players. When they come here and they do well, they get linked to other clubs.

“The manager has shown his abilities as a manager. When you do that and have success with that, you attract attention. That’s what’s happened. Ultimately, there’s a lot of speculation. That’s what it is. There’s a lot of noise, but I know first hand the way he works.

“He’s focussed on his job. He loves being here. He’s in the middle of building something very special so I think his mind is firmly focussed on being at Celtic and doing the best he can here.”