Martin O’Neill suggests surprise name for next Celtic manager

After Neil Lennon stepped down from his role, John Kennedy has been serving as the interim Celtic manager. But it is expected that the club will go after a new manager in the summer as they look to rebuild and challenge for the Premiership once again.

If performances and results improve drastically under Kennedy, then it is very possible that he could be handed the role on a permanent basis. But till now, that has not happened. In fact, it feels like things are very similar to how they were under Lennon.

A wide variety of names have been brought up with regards to the Parkhead job. And while those like Eddie Howe and Rafa Benitez have excited fans, the suggestion of Roy Keane has certainly raised a few eyebrows.

Martin O’Neill certainly believes that he could do the job at Parkhead though. As reported by The Scottish Sun, he told Sky Sports:

"“My own personal view is that owners and chief executives are missing a trick by not thinking about Roy as their manager.“That is my view. He has learned a great deal and he is very capable of taking a top job.”"

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Could Keane be the man for the Celtic job?

Keane has an extensive history of working under O’Neill as assistant manager and thus, he has watched him more closely than most people.

The fact of the matter is that Keane did not achieve too much success as a manager. The only two roles he had were at Sunderland and Ipswich Town, and that was over a decade ago. Since then, he has served as assistant manager for the Republic of Ireland national team, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. Thus, it is not surprising if fans are not excited by the prospect of him taking over at Parkhead, especially after the season that they have endured.

Is it possible that he has improved drastically since he was the manager of Ipswich Town? Definitely. And in that case, it would be wrong to judge his abilities based on what he achieved over a decade ago.

But at this point of time, Celtic do need someone with experience who can come in and turn things around quickly. As a result, appointing Keane might be too big of a risk.