Kieran McKenna gets ringing Neil Lennon endorsement as Celtic hero praises 'box office' candidate

Kieran McKenna has been heavily linked with the Celtic vacancy.

The London-born coach, who was raised in Fermanagh, has been through this before. Brighton, Chelsea and Manchester United have all reportedly tried to speak to him about their managerial vacancies.

But when asked about replacing Brendan Rodgers at Celtic Park, McKenna didn’t rule it out, but made his commitment to Ipswich clear. It feels like the Hoops would need to push hard to persuade him.

McKenna, aged 39, has previously worked at Tottenham Hotspur and Man United, becoming first-team coach at the latter. His move to Ipswich for his first manager position has been a whirlwind – but an impressive whirlwind.

He took the Tractor Boys from mid-table in League One to the Premier League with back-to-back promotions. And for Hoops hero Neil Lennon, this makes him the standout candidate.

Neil Lennon on Celtic manager targets including Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna

Lennon, Rodgers and current interim boss Martin O’Neill are all examples of tremendous Celtic managers from the north of Ireland.

Could McKenna add his name to that list?

Many Celtic fans would happily see O’Neill continue in his role, as long as results keep coming.

READ MORE: Charlie Mulgrew reflects on awkward Neil Lennon moment behind the scenes at Celtic vs Rangers

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With a coaching team of Shaun Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus, there is a healthy balance of ages, approaches and voices in the Hoops dressing room.

But O’Neill remains pessimistic of his chances at the permanent role, and for Lennon, McKenna is the first choice.

He told the Scottish Football Social Club: “My initial thought would’ve been Kieran McKenna. I think they’re looking for a younger coach.

“Obviously, Kieran had his time at Spurs and Man United, and he’s gone out on his own, got two promotions and obviously a relegation with Ipswich.

“But he’s done really well with Ipswich. I thought he would’ve been maybe the first choice, really. Whether they can tempt him away is another thing.

“Bellamy’s an interesting one, he’s getting rave reviews for Wales. If you know Craig, he’s quite a spiky character, but he would be box office.

“I think he’s got a very high IQ for football. He’s very detailed in his work, and he obviously worked with Vincent Kompany as well.

“So those two would be stand-outs for me. Knutsen has been at Bodo/Glimt for quite a while, and you wonder why, because he’s had so much success for Bodo over the last five-six years. But again, he’s a coach with pedigree.

“So I think they’re looking for a younger one. I’m not going to speculate who that could be. It was interesting, Martin’s comments about the international break coming up, and maybe that will give the club the time to get their man in.”

In McKenna, the Hoops would be pulling off a major coup – the 39-year-old is one of the highest-rated coaches in Britain.

For Bellamy, it looks extremely unlikely that he could be brought in before the end of Wales’ qualification campaign for next year’s World Cup.

But as a former Hoops striker who was signed by O’Neill, his links to the role are understandable.

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