IT WILL cost Celtic £5million if they hope to lure Kieran McKenna from Ipswich Town to replace Brendan Rodgers.
The 39-year-old Irishman has emerged as one of three managerial targets for the champions, along with ex-Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou and legendary striker Robbie Keane.
Martin O’Neill, 73, has been put in interim charge and will be in the dug-out along with Shaun Maloney for the Premiership tussle with Falkirk at Parkhead this evening.
The veteran ex-gaffer is focusing on the encounter against John McGlynn’s team before turning his attention to the Premier Sports League Cup semi-final against Ibrox opposition at Hampden on Sunday.
BACK IN THE OLD ROUTINE…former Celtic boss Martin O’Neill meets the media yesterday. Image courtesy Sky Sports.
While O’Neill takes care of immediate business, the club’s hierarchy are searching for a permanent successor to Rodgers who resigned on Monday.
Ex-Manchester United coach McKenna has already been mentioned among the early frontrunners, but the East Anglian team chief has a contract that runs until 2028 and will cost a record fee in compensation.
The Championship outfit are likely to demand something in the region of £5million for their impressive head coach, according to a report in the Scottish Sun.
McKenna led the Portman Road side to the Premier League in 2024 following back-to-back promotions before the club were relegated last season.
The highly-rated boss, who kicked off his backroom career at Spurs after his premature injury-enforced retirement as a player, has been linked with Chelsea and Brighton in the past, but has opted to stay at Ipswich.
A BIG HAND…Ange Postecoglou acknowledges the Celtic fans after completitng the domestic clean sweep with the Scottish Cup triumph in June 2023 – just before his departure for Spurs.
Dermot Desmond, the club’s principal shareholder, and chief executive Michael Nicholson are weighing up all the options and Paul Tisdale, Celtic’s head of football operations, will also have a prominent role in the process.
Postecoglou, sacked by Spurs and Nottingham Forest in a extraordinary five-month spell, became a Hoops fans’ favourite when he turned things around in the summer of 2021 after he inherited a shambles from Neil Lennon following a trophyless campaign.
The Greek/Australian, 60, led the club to a Premiership and League Cup success in his debut campaign and followed up with a silverware clean sweep before heading for London for a two-year stay – including winning last season’s Europa League – before his 39-day ‘career’ at Forest.
Keane, 45, who spent time at Parkhead on loan during Tony Mowbray’s brief stop in Glasgow, has already convinced as a team boss with Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv before taking over Hungary’s Ferencvaros.
*DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v Falkirk this evening – only in your champion CQN.
