CELTIC coach Darren O'Dea is enjoying his new surroundings after landing a promotion at Parkhead earlier this month.
The former Toronto, Blackpool and Dundee defender - who came through the youth system at Celtic Park - has been working as manager of the Hoops' Under-18s side since hanging up his boots two years ago.
O'Dea's work with the youth team didn't go unnoticed and the 20-times capped Republic of Ireland internationalist moved on to join Tommy McIntyre's coaching staff with the Celtic B team at the beginning of October.
The Colts side, who are playing in the Lowland League this season, represent a step up for O'Dea - but the man himself feels ready to take it after taking on pointers from the likes of John Kennedy and Ange Postecoglou.
“I really enjoyed the last two years and working with the Under-18s was fantastic, but the offer to come up and obviously the change in scenery – in terms of from working at Celtic Park with the U18s and now at Lennoxtown – has been brilliant," he told the club's website.
“A lot of the change with the players hasn’t been huge because the vast majority I have worked for some sort of period with the 18s, some of them for longer than others, so the players know me and I certainly know them.
“Pivotal to the role here is the access you get to how the first team work and getting to see that daily, and being around them, albeit I’m not working directly with them.
“But you get a lot of access and that’s part of the job I suppose – being up and around and seeing how things work, and that has been invaluable to me.
“In taking this role, I had the full intention of maximising every bit of information I could get and every learning experience I could get, and the manager’s been fantastic with everyone.
“I can only speak from a personal point of view, but he’s been brilliant, and any time I’ve needed anything or wanted to ask a question, he’s very accommodating and very clear. So it’s been fantastic as a young coach to learn from that.
“And I have to mention John Kennedy in that as well because John’s obviously been here for the just over two years I’ve been in and any time I’ve gone to John for a bit of advice or an opinion, or even just a conversation, you always get tenfold what you expect back.”
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