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Martin O’Neill says next Celtic managerial candidate Kieran McKenna has “a body of work” that could make him an attractive proposition to the Parkhead board. Current Ipswich Town boss McKenna has emerged as an early contender to replace sacked Brendan Rodgers at Celtic Park. The 39-year-old is contracted to Ipswich until the summer of 2028 but is admired by the current Celtic hierarchy, who had him shortlisted for the vacancy back in 2023, only to hand the role to Rodgers. A former Manchester United youth coach, McKenna took over at Portman Road four years ago and led Ipswich to back-to-back promotions. They were relegated from the Premier League last season and currently sit 12th in the Championship. Other early frontrunners include former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou, who was recently sacked by Nottingham Forest, and Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen, who is out of contract in December. However, The Scotsman understands that McKenna is already a live candidate for Celtic - and O’Neill talked up the credentials of his fellow Northern Irishman. “I’ve got a lot of time for him, absolutely,” O’Neill said on McKenna. “He’s a young manager, he was at Manchester United for a while and what he did at Ipswich was terrific. “It was always going to be difficult for them to stay up last season, but I’ve got a lot of time for him. I don’t really know him, I’ve only met him once in my time, but I can only look at his body of work. I wouldn’t put it past him to be of interest to the club.” O’Neill and players pathway manager Shaun Maloney will take the team on an interim basis until a permanent successor to Rodgers is appointed - starting on Wednesday against Falkirk. Neither O’Neill or Maloney were keen to throw their hats into the ring. "This is definitely an interim [arrangement],” said O’Neill. “They could have a new manager in two weeks. If we don't win on Wednesday evening we might have a new manager on Thursday..." O’Neill also conceded that major shareholder Dermot Desmond did not give him any indication of how long he will and Maloney will be in charge of first-team matters. “He just said that they would definitely be making a permanent appointment, and I would assume that would be sooner rather than later,” added O’Neill. That’s my take on it. “Honestly, genuinely, if it lasts two games, it genuinely does not matter to me, and I will step aside immediately when they make that permanent appointment and that will be it.”
