‘The gaffer has made me feel welcome’

JONJOE KENNY has thanked Neil Lennon and his Celtic team-mates for making him feel right at home already as he settles into life in Scotland.

The full-back has had a whirlwind week following his deadline day arrival at Celtic on loan from Everton for the rest of the season, squeezing in a solitary training session before taking on Kilmarnock in his debut on Tuesday night.

The 23-year-old impressed his manager immediately with his enthusiastic and energetic display down the right, and he says that he owes his fast start to the welcome he has received at Lennoxtown.

“It was a brilliant first few days, actually,” Kenny told the Celtic website. “It was good to arrive and just get straight into it. I had the chance to have a chat with the gaffer on the day I signed and he made me feel welcome. I did a training session right after that and then the Kilmarnock game was the following day. I was happy with jumping straight into things.

“That quick turnaround really helped me settle in right away because I didn’t have time to think about things, it was all about the football and that’s what you want.

“I knew a couple of the boys already. I knew Greg [Taylor], and Shane [Duffy] as well because he was at Everton when I was younger. The thing that helped me settle the most was the lads were brilliant with me.

“When the lads make you feel so welcome like they did and you have that communication going on during the game, then it makes a huge difference.”

Kenny is hoping that his introduction to the side can help them build on that clean sheet at Rugby Park when Motherwell come calling this Saturday, believing that a solid foundation is key to getting their season back on track.

“There are a lot of good teams who’ll be difficult to beat, so I’m really looking forward to every game and working hard to get good results,” he said.

“No game is going to be easy but that’s football.”