Neil Warnock has given Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna some advice after being linked with the vacant managerial position at Celtic.
Former Manchester United coach Kieran McKenna was highly thought of during his time at Old Trafford, working closely with Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Since taking over at Ipswich Town, McKenna has achieved back-to-back promotions – but the Tractor Boys were relegated to the Championship last season and face an almighty task to get back into the top flight.
McKenna’s stock has risen in that time amid links to United and Tottenham Hotspur in the past year, but he remained at Ipswich Town.
Brendan Rodgers’ resignation at Celtic has led to McKenna becoming a leading contender for the role, with Martin O’Neill taking charge of the team on an interim basis.
Neil Warnock advises Kieran McKenna to take Celtic job
McKenna is an attractive prospect to restore the positivity at Celtic Park.
Celtic will face financial hurdles if they decide to appoint McKenna since he signed a new four-year contract at Portman Road in the summer of 2024.
The 39-year-old coach would need to be prepared to leave English football to forge a new chapter in Scotland. As a result, McKenna would jump from a club looking to gain promotion back to the Premier League to taking over a team with aspirations to win league titles every season.
Former Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock, who spent a period in charge of Aberdeen two seasons ago, has offered some strong advice for McKenna.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Warnock said: “I just think up there, until you get there, you don’t realise the scrutiny of those top two teams. And so it’ll be interesting to see who Celtic will appoint.”
Alan Brazil replied: “I was going to say, Neil, what would you do if you were McKenna at Ipswich, and you were offered that job? Would you take the chance, or would you stay with Ipswich, who has been brilliant, unfortunately?”
Warnock advised McKenna to take the job now, saying: “I think I would take it now, because I don’t think Ipswich is a force that they were, and I don’t think they’re guaranteed to go straight back up.”
He added: “He’s been there a few years. I remember when I was in Notts County, I took them two divisions up to the top flight. Notts County.
“In the top flight, I got offered the Chelsea job and I stayed loyal to Notts County, and six months later, I got the sack.
“Hey, listen, it’s hard work and Kieran has a lot of friends and people there, a lot of emotions come into it.
“But if he’s offered the Celtic job, bloody hell, he should take that straight away.”
What has Sir Alex Ferguson said about Kieran McKenna?
Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest manager in United’s history, so his views on the game will forever carry weight.
Ferguson also enjoyed success as a manager in Scotland when he transformed Aberdeen by breaking the long-standing domestic dominance of Celtic and Rangers.
Aberdeen also beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup to become the only Scottish club outside of the Old Firm to win a major European trophy.
The legendary Scot was one of the first to congratulate McKenna when he won the LMA Manager of the Year in 2024.
Ferguson told LMA at the time: “I extend my congratulations to Kieran McKenna on winning the LMA Manager of the Year award after a memorable season with Ipswich Town.
“He is an incredible young talent who had a great reputation when he was on the coaching staff at Manchester United.
“Kieran is humble and carries tremendous composure, as well as great technical and tactical insight and awareness – all the hallmarks to become a top manager at the very highest level.”
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