Mills shares verdict on Celtic appointing Keane after Desmond plea

Danny Mills has suggested the Celtic board were right to ignore Martin O'Neill's plea to appoint Roy Keane as their new manager.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Leeds United and England defender claimed Keane, 49, would not be a long-term success at Parkhead.

Football Insider understands O'Neill told Hoops powerbroker Dermot Desmond that his former assistant is the right man to turn Celtic around after talks with Eddie Howe broke down.

The club released a statement on Friday explaining that the Englishman will not be Neil Lennon's successor “for reasons outside both his and Celtic’s control”.

Football Insider understands Greek-born Australian Ange Postecoglou has asked for permission to quit Japanese club Yokohama F. Marinos and join Celtic.

“Keane knows the club, he’s got the links and everything else,” Mills told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.

“It would be a good step for him. He’s going to win most of the games up in Scotland, so that wouldn’t be a problem for him.

“But we’ve seen it in the past he’s done great and then it’s fallen apart a little bit. Celtic have to be careful with where they go for it.

“Celtic will sell their season tickets, no matter who the manager is because they’ve got such a loyal fanbase. That won’t be an issue.

“He will be great to start with but then it’s about results. Pep Guardiola would be popular to start with but if he’s not winning it will change very, very quickly.

“We know what Celtic’s like, the pressure is immense. You have to win.”

This site broke the news at the end of March that Keane interviewed for the position and held talks about the position with the board.

In other news, Celtic have made a move to sign a Premier League 24-year-old after a brilliant season and a part-exchange is possible.