Neil Lennon has warned Hibs away from making an approach for John Kennedy.
Last week the Edinburgh side sacked Paul Heckingbottom with Kennedy believed to be among their candidates to take over.
Lennon knows the workings inside Easter Road and is determined to hold on to his assistant manager, The Sun reported:
But after seeing his side stay top of the Premiership with a 2-0 win over Motherwell, Lennon said: “We don’t want him to go but it doesn’t surprise me because he’s a superb coach.
“It’s a feather in John’s cap if that’s the case but as far as I’m concerned he won’t be going anywhere because he’s an integral part of what we do here.”
Hibs has become a managerial graveyard in recent years with Alan Stubbs, John Hughes and John Collins having spells in charge over the last decade as well as Terry Butcher and Pat Fenlon.
Lennon was in charge at the start of this year but following the winter break he left the club with an uncomfortable ‘mutual consent’ statement sent out.
When Brendan Rodgers opted on an overnight switch to Leicester the former Hibs boss moved in as caretaker with his appointment made permanent after winning the Scottish Cup.
In 2014 Kennedy moved up from the Celtic academy set up to assist Ronny Deila and John Collins, retaining that role under Rodgers and upon Lennon’s return.
