Shane: I sank to rock-bottom at Celts.. I thought Premier League was over for me
CELTIC flop Shane Duffy says he hit ‘rock-bottom’ after his dream loan move turned into a nightmare.
The boyhood Hoops fan joined the club last summer but didn’t even finish the season, going back to Brighton after Neil Lennon’s exit.
His last appearance for Celtic came in a 2-1 win over St Johnstone in February but he lost his place in the team to Stephen Welsh and never got another look-in.
Duffy was also dealing with the death of his father and the criticism he received got too much. He admits it was a relief to return to the south coast of England.
He was back in the Brighton team for their Premier League opener with a man-of-the-match performance against Burnley which ended in a 2-1 win. He admits he thought his chance at that level had gone.
But he’s grateful to boss Graham Potter and everyone at Brighton for sticking by him despite his time at Celtic Park being a disappointment.
He said: “When you hit rock-bottom that is the reality, a lot was going wrong off the field, which was difficult for me and I had to mentally go through that and that was tough.
“So, until you get to that moment you get there and realise you have to change something.
“That is what I have done and I am still taking it day by day, and be like an 18-year-old try and impress every day, try and improve and try and help as much as I can. I feel like if you do that you get the reward sometimes when maybe you don’t expect it.
“You always think that and after the year I had I was in a really low place and thought Premier League is probably over for me. But I have good people around me and the club [Brighton] are so good for me and it feels like home for me.
“When I came back after my loan I had a big relief off my shoulders and I felt I’d come home again and the comfort started to come back.
“The lads have been brilliant around me, so there is a little bit in your head that you might not be able to but the character I am I have been proving people wrong all my career and that is what I have got to do again, hit the restart button.
“That is what I have done really. It is only one game and a lot can still happen but as long as I am here I will try to help the team.”