A Liverpool legend has gone all in on an ex-Anfield and Tottenham star becoming Celtic’s next gaffer.
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A Liverpool and England legend says a former Anfield and Tottenham star would be a good fit as the next Celtic manager.
The Hoops are hunting their next permanent boss after Brendan Rodgers’ resignation last month, with Martin O’Neill currently taking interim charge. A variety of names have been linked with the position but one of them is Robbie Keane, who is currently impressing as head coach of Hungarian side Ferencvaros, previously taking charge at Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Formerly a striker in his playing days, he had a loan at the Hoops before hanging up his boots but is more widely known for stints in England at the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. John Barnes, who briefly managed Celtic in the late 90s, has observed Keane’s management career to date. With the Hoops unlikely to attract an elite calibre manager, the Anfield and Three Lions favourite claims Keane’s past Hoops experience could edge him into strong Celtic contention.
John Barnes on next Celtic manager
He said: “Robbie Keane is one, obviously, he has that link with Celtic and I think that it would help because he's proven himself. He's been away, he's coached Ferencvaros and did well at other clubs. He has a link with Celtic so therefore the fans will like him.
“The fans will give him time and that's always important for the fans to like him, the fans to give you time. I don't think there are any huge names because obviously if Jose Mourinho wanted it or somebody like that or Jurgen Klopp wanted it, then of course it's a no-brainer.
“But I don't think that Celtic are at that moment, at that place, where you can look for a manager like that, if you like. hey took a chance with Ange when nobody knew much about Ange and it worked. But I think Robbie Keane would be a good fit. “
What type of manager do Celtic need?
Plenty of clubs in Europe now seek a head coach model, whereby a sporting director deals with much of the transfer business, leaving the head coach to focus on mainly first team matters. Barnes reckons that regardless of title, Celtic must follow some Premier League giants in ensuring the next leader is their most important person inside Parkhead.
He added: “No matter what you're calling it, you call it a head coach. Pep Guardiola is the head coach at Manchester City, but he controls, he is the most important man at the club. Mikel Arteta is the head coach at Arsenal, Jurgen Klopp was the head coach at Liverpool, but they are the most important figures. So if you're going to say a head coach is going to come and just coach but have nothing to do with the signings, nothing to do with that, I don't think you're going to get a top, top manager who wants that.
“They want control over it and that's the way it should be. That is why those three teams, Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City are the top teams. You can call them what you want, head coach, manager, big man, whatever you want to call him, but he's the number one man. He has all the control and the club, not in terms of how much money they spend and stuff like that, but which players come into the club. So I'm not really interested in titles. It's more the character of the manager and what the demands are of the manager and the power that he has. So if you're going to give a head coach all the power, then you can call him whatever you want.”