‘One of the best’: Kewell’s seal of approval from Keillor-Dunn
FORMER Ross County midfielder Davis Keillor-Dunn believes Ange Postecoglou’s recruitment of compatriot Harry Kewell to his first-team coaching staff will turn out to be another managerial masterstroke.
The 24-year-old served under Kewell when he was manager of Oldham in season 2020/21 and says the former Leeds United and Liverpool star is one of the best coaches in the business.
Keillor-Dunn spent two years with the Staggies between 2017 and 2019 and then enjoyed a loan spell with Falkirk and he says it was Kewell’s personal touch as well as the one-to-one tuition that helped develop his game and take it to another level.
Keillor-Dunn said: “I can only judge Harry Kewell on what I have experienced personally. He is one of the best coaches I have worked with. He really helped my game as I played a similar position to him and I got more one-to-one time with him and he knew my role in the team more than anybody.
“He played at the highest level possible and he knew the position inside out. He wanted me to constantly work on my left foot and my right foot. If he identified a weakness in any player’s game he would tell them straight away.
“Harry told lots of players their game strengths but he also wasn’t shy at pointing out the weaknesses and downfalls. He also tells players home truths as he is such an honest guy. I just think as a coach his attention to detail is second to none. He is a total perfectionist and he puts in so many hours of training. He likes things done perfectly. If you don’t do it his way he is not shy in letting you know. Players love that honesty as it helps benefit their game.
“Harry is non-stop on the training ground and he will not leave until the last player is in the changing room. He has a bit of everything and he has what it takes to go on and become a top coach. I think he will do well for Celtic and benefit the club so much.
“I got on so well with Harry and he likes a laugh and a joke. He is a great guy. He has still got it – left foot, right foot, and cross balls. The talent is all still there in abundance. He loves to join in as much as possible at training.
“Harry still has the buzz for it and I’m sure he still misses playing because he just loves
being involved.”
Former Sunderland, Chesterfield and Middlesbrough player Keillor-Dunn believes that having the likes of Kewell around will also help Celtic get the best out of mercurial talents like Portuguese winger Jota.
“Harry is going in somewhere where he knows the manager having worked with him with the Australian national team,” Keillor-Dunn said. “That familiarity is a wonderful thing straight off the bat and that can help things go even smoother.
“Harry will automatically feel at home with Celtic. The Australian connection is there and he will know that Postecoglou is his mate and will be there to help bed him in. That can’t be under-estimated. I’ve got nothing but great things to say about Harry’s coaching and his man-management style as he is by far one of the best I have worked with.
“Harry will take to Celtic like a duck to water. I watched Celtic a few times last season and I just feel that Harry is a perfect fit for that club. I have watched the boy Jota a few times too and once the gaffer (I still call Harry “gaffer”) gets to work with a player like that, with the experience Harry has got, especially in Europe, he can take Celtic and players like Jota to the next level.”
If Kewell is such a good coach, what went wrong at Oldham and the other English clubs he managed?
Kewell has had four spells in charge of teams in the English lower leagues and failed to set the heather alight. In
fact, Kewell has been sacked from his last three managerial positions at Notts County, Oldham and most recently Barnet.
Keillor-Dunn, though, says the Oldham players and supporters alike were devastated when Kewell parted company with the club just when he had them playing a brand of attractive, attacking football.
He said: “I can’t really comment on the other clubs he was at [but] when he was at Oldham, he didn’t do so badly. He was relatively successful and we were the second or third goalscorers in League Two when Harry was the manager.
“The supporters really enjoyed watching us play football under Harry. The club didn’t finish where we wanted to but it was Harry who identified that we needed to strengthen the defensive department.
“I had so many messages when he left the club and people were devastated. They could see that the club was progressing in the right manner. If we had strengthened at the time then who knows what would have happened and where Harry could have taken Oldham.
“Harry was the first manager to sign me in the Football League. It was my first season in League Two. I scored 11 goals and had six assists in my first year at the club and it was all down to Harry – the man-management, the way he was on the training ground just different things like that. He gave me the confidence to go out and play.”