Town boss Kieran McKenna is being linked with the vacant manager’s job at Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers made a shock departure from Parkhead yesterday, resigning with his side eight points behind Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership, with former incumbent Martin O’Neill quickly installed as interim manager with his one-time player Shaun Maloney as his assistant.
Another ex-Celtic boss, Ange Postecoglou, is currently favourite for a return to Glasgow at 7-4 with Bet365, but The Scotsman and other newspapers north of the border are reporting that McKenna has admirers in the Parkhead boardroom having previously been linked in the summer of 2023.
Those reports, and claims O’Neill has backed McKenna to be a potential candidate, have seen the 39-year-old move to second-favourite with most bookies, at 3-1 at time of writing.
McKenna, who was very speculatively linked with the Rangers job earlier in the month, is contracted to the Blues until the summer of 2028 and would cost Celtic a significant figure in compensation - as well as wages - should they firm up their reported interest.
Whether McKenna would then be tempted by a move to the Bhoys, a club with whom he has some affinity, remains to be seen.
The Town boss held talks with Chelsea, Manchester United and Brighton in the summer of 2024, coming very close to joining the Seagulls having previously been on the verge of moving to Crystal Palace during the previous season, but opted to remain with the Blues ahead of their Premier League campaign.
Following the Blues’ relegation, aside from vague links with Brentford, it was a relatively quiet summer regarding speculation on McKenna’s future.
In addition to McKenna and Postecoglou, Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen is also said to be among those interesting the Scottish Premiership champions.