O’Neill says he pulled himself off floor after job offer
Unclear if Ipswich manager McKenna would favour move
Martin O’Neill has insisted his return to Celtic will be “short term” as the Ipswich manager, Kieran McKenna, emerged as a candidate to replace Brendan Rodgers.
In a shock move on Monday evening, Rodgers resigned from Celtic with his team eight points adrift of Hearts in the Scottish Premiership. Equally surprising was the return of O’Neill, whose previous, hugely successful spell in charge ended in 2005. The 73-year-old said he had to “pull myself off the floor” when taking a call from the club’s main shareholder, Dermot Desmond. Rodgers was castigated by Desmond in a statement posted on Celtic’s website within 15 minutes of the manager’s departure being confirmed.
Ange Postecoglou was immediately installed as the favourite to replace Rodgers. However, there is little immediate traction associated with a return for the Australian to Glasgow despite his being out of work. McKenna is known to have admirers at Celtic on the back of his results – and style of play – at Ipswich but whether the 39-year-old would view a move to Scotland as sensible remains to be seen. McKenna, previously interviewed by Chelsea, has his team three points off the Championship playoffs. He is under contract until 2028.
