Former Manchester United winger Keith Gillespie has backed Red Devils legend Roy Keane to take over at Celtic and begin a rivalry with Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.
The Scottish giants are on the lookout for a new manager after the resignation of Neil Lennon in the wake of a disappointing season.
Celtic are currently 20 points behind ex-Liverpool icon Gerrard’s men, who have already been crowned champions. They have yet to lose a game.
And a report from Football Insider has suggested that Celtic could turn to their former midfielder, Keane, as they bid to close the gap over the coming seasons.
The two parties are said to be locked in talks and it would mark Keane’s return to management, as he has not been in sole charge of a team since his stint with Ipswich Town between 2009 and 2011.
Since then, he has been an assistant at the Republic of Ireland, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest but Gillespie, who shared a dressing room with Keane when he was a Manchester United player, thinks he could have a real impact at Parkhead.
He told FFC: “They need somebody who is a name and I think it would be very interesting, the fact that if he does, you’ve got that rivalry of Gerrard and Keane, which adds a little bit more spice to it. But they’re so far behind Rangers this season that they need something to change.”
Keane has spent the majority of his time away from the game in the Sky Sports studio, passing sardonic judgement on current Premier League teams.
And Gillespie thinks that the players will know what to expect from him, having seen him be so vicious in the studio, while bringing the experience of working under top managers earlier in his career.
He added: “I think players will obviously respect him, they’ll listen to him as a pundit. And so they’ll know that he doesn’t pull any punches.
“You’d like to think that the players would react and he’s worked under Brian Clough, he’s worked under Alex Ferguson. Two great managers.
“So you’d like to think that some of what he’s learned off them will rub off.”
