Celtic were given a boost with regards to keeping John Kennedy at the club recently.
Davie Hay has told The Glasgow Evening Times that John Kennedy has the tools and qualities needed to potentially become the next Celtic manager.
The 36-year-old Hoops coach has been linked with a move away from Lennoxtown in recent weeks.
According to The Scotsman, Hibernian were set to make a move for Kennedy as Paul Heckingbottom’s replacement, but the Easter Road side wound up hiring Jack Ross instead.
It represented a big boost for Celtic and particularly Neil Lennon, who spoke openly about his desire to keep his young assistant manager by his side in Glasgow.
Kennedy had been an important behind-the-scenes figure during Brendan Rodgers’s phenomenal success in Scotland, with the Northern Irishman winning seven domestic trophies of a possible seven.
And Hay is very confident that when Lennon leaves his role as Celtic manager for a second time, Kennedy will ‘assume the mantle’ if he stays where he is.
He told The Glasgow Evening Times: “I have no doubt that he has what it takes to be the Celtic manager one day. If he stays where he is, then there is every chance that when the time eventually comes for Neil Lennon to move on for whatever reason, he will be the man who assumes the mantle.”
It’s a pretty confident claim by Hay, but is he right? Potentially not.
He might know each and every Celtic player extremely well and must have a solid relationship with the squad as a whole but, by the same token, he has no managerial experience and Celtic is a huge club.
Despite his ties with the Bhoys, it would be a major gamble for Peter Lawwell to sign him up.
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