‘New No 2 Kennedy knows where success came from at Celtic’

BRENDAN RODGERS is confident Celtic are well placed for a historic treble treble without him this season – after appointing John Kennedy as interim assistant manager.

The Parkhead club wasted no time bringing in a temporary replacement for Rodgers when the Northern Irishman moved to Premier League club Leicester City on Tuesday.

They brought in his countryman Neil Lennon, the former Celtic manager who was available after parting company with Hibernian last month, until the end of the 2018/19 campaign.

His predecessor feels that was a wise move by the Scottish champions, who are eight points clear at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership and take on Hibs in the William Hill Scottish Cup quarter-final tonight.

However, he believes that promoting Kennedy, who has been a key member of his backroom team in the past 33 months, is a masterstroke and will help to ensure there is no dip in performance levels in the coming weeks.

“Neil will go on,” he said. “He’s a good choice and knows the club and he’ll be in pole position to get the job done.

“He’s got John in with him now who worked closely for me for the period of time I was there. John will see the methods and where the continuity of success came from.

“It was based purely around hard work, planning, preparation, focus, attention to detail. And he’s been a part of that. It’s a really good move by the club to increase his role.

“Neil will add his own slant to it. The most important thing is the club and it’s success.”