John Kennedy has been treated to a masterclass from some of Celtic’s greatest managers.
He played for Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan. Then he worked with Treble winners Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon, having started in the first team coaching role under Ronny Deila. Now there’s more expertise coming from current class act Ange Postecoglou. Kennedy has soaked up all of the football knowledge. The tactical acumen.
But it’s the human touch, the personal element, that has struck him. The manner in which the men in charge relate to their troops, create a bond and have them deliver. It’s a key trait and Kennedy sees it again every day with Postecoglou.
The former Hoops defender said: “Everyone has their own idea about how they want things to be done and how they want their team to look. Being at Celtic, they all play a similar style in terms of being attack-minded, going forward, being aggressive and dominating the game. But when you sit down with them all, what you realise is they are all very good people. And that’s what it’s all about.
“It’s not just about how you can set a team up. It’s about how you train them, how you deal with people. That’s what the best managers do and that’s something I have taken from them all.
“They all have different styles, very much so in terms of how they deal with people but they all have an empathy, a way of speaking to people to get them on board.
“When you have 25-30 players coming from different parts of the world, different cultures, being able to captivate them and give them one common purpose and goal is special in itself. All of these guys have been able to do that and that’s the biggest thing I’ve taken from them all.”
It’s a priceless schooling as he added: “Yes, I’ve been very fortunate. When I finished playing I had a plan in place to go through my coaching education and work my way up from the youth levels and see what materialised.
“Along the way opportunities have opened up for me, which I’ve taken. The progression has always been there for me at the club, so it’s worked out really well and the opportunity to work under these guys has been second to none.
“You don’t get a lot of that in the game, the time I’ve had working with so many good people. It’s something I’m very grateful for.”
Kennedy has earned their utmost respect. Having been named PFA Manager of the Year again this week, Postecoglou cited the work on his backroom team and stated that: “The football department is led by John Kennedy who is just an outstanding person, coach and leader.”
But the assistant modestly responded: “Ange is in charge. He has been kind there. As assistant manager, my job is to be a buffer. If everyone is going to the manager with everything, he will never get a minute’s peace.
“He’s got a lot of big decisions to make, a lot of things to deal with. So the day-to-day running of things, how the training operates, around the training ground in terms of things that need doing, the lesser decisions, that’s easy done.
“But certainly if there’s anything I need to run by him or bigger decisions need made, I’m the first to chap his door and make sure he’s aware of what’s going on and he has the information he needs to make the bigger decisions.
“He’s the one who makes the team selections, brings in players and speaks to the board about the strategy of the club. So I need to give him all the information to make these calls.”
Naturally, having had a taste of running the show as caretaker boss, there is a natural presumption it has whetted the appetite of Kennedy to go it alone.
But he says there’s no desire for that and said: “I’ve always felt I’ve been challenged here. I’ve made steps in the right direction and I’ve been working with great people.
“If there comes a point where I feel like I’m not progressing or I’m not getting challenged or I feel like I’m not getting enough responsibility I’d look at other options. Or if the gaffer decides he wants to make a change!
“But I’m really enjoying what I’m doing. I’ve a great relationship with Ange. We get on really well. Our biggest focus is to win games and trophies.”
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