Robbie Keane in Contention for Preston North End Manager Role
Robbie Keane is back in the managerial frame – and this time the trail leads to Deepdale.
The former Celtic striker has emerged as a contender for the vacant Preston North End job, with journalist Alan Nixon reporting that the 46-year-old is under serious consideration following Paul Heckingbottom’s departure.
Only a few months ago, Keane was deep in talks over a dramatic return to Parkhead. He was strongly linked with the Celtic post earlier in the summer before Martin O’Neill was confirmed as permanent manager. Discussions had taken place about Keane stepping in after O’Neill’s interim spell, but that plan never came to life and Celtic turned back to the veteran coach instead.
Now Keane’s route back into management may run through the Championship rather than Glasgow.
There is a clear line into Preston. Keane already has history with North End chairman Peter Ridsdale from their time together at Leeds United during the striker’s playing days. That connection could prove important as Preston weigh up their options.
O’Neill, too, knows Ridsdale well. The Celtic manager visited Deepdale earlier this year with coach Mark Fotheringham, renewing a relationship that goes back more than 20 years. In 2003, Ridsdale offered O’Neill the Leeds job, and the Irishman even signed a “statement of intent” over a possible move to Elland Road at a moment when his Celtic future was uncertain.
Keane’s own coaching story has stalled since he left Ferencvaros at the end of last season. His side missed out on the Hungarian title to ETO FC Gyori, a result that snapped Ferencvaros’ seven-year grip on the championship and ended his spell in Budapest. The club turned to Balazs Borbely, the coach who had just led Gyori to the title and has since taken charge at Ferencvaros.
Links between Keane and Celtic felt almost inevitable. He enjoyed a popular spell as a player at Parkhead and retains a strong relationship with the club’s principal shareholder, Dermot Desmond. Yet once O’Neill landed the job on a permanent basis, Keane slipped quietly out of that particular spotlight and has not spoken publicly about those talks.
Preston could change that silence. A move to Deepdale would hand Keane his first crack at management in the English Championship – and a fresh stage on which to prove he belongs in the dugout as much as he once did in the penalty box.
