Kennedy urges Bhoys to step up and send rivals a reminder

JOHN KENNEDY wants Celtic to remind Rangers they haven’t gone away when they take on the new champions at Parkhead on Sunday. Steven Gerrard’s side recently clinched the Ibrox club’s 55th Scottish top-flight title and, in doing so, dashed the Parkhead team’s dreams of a record-breaking ten in a row. Interim boss Kennedy, who stepped up from assistant after Neil Lennon’s exit last month, is keen for Celtic to put down a marker against their Old Firm rivals, whom they trail by 20 points in second place. He told Celtic TV: ‘It’s very important to everyone, the fans, the club, the players themselves. Everyone knows what it means. ‘It is not, because the league is done, a nothing game. It is a game in its own right, it is a derby match and one in which we want to put things right. ‘We know we have underachieved in recent (derby) games, especially the last game (a 1-0 defeat at Ibrox), where we thought it was a good performance and then we went down to ten men and lost the game. ‘But that gives us confidence we can impose our style and win the game which is the most important thing because, again, we might have lost the league title, but we are certainly not away, we are still striving to get back to being the best team in the country.’ Kennedy believes a win would lift the spirits of Celtic fans unable to attend games all season due to coronavirus restrictions. The former Celtic defender, however, stressed the need for supporters to stay at home and stay safe before, during and after the match. ‘It’s a tough season for everyone, especially our fans who have had great success over the seasons,’ he added. ‘We went into the season with high hopes and we haven’t reached that level. ‘So that has been disappointing for everyone, ourselves included, but the fans are the ones who have not been allowed to attend the games and support the team the way they want, which I imagine has been very difficult. ‘We certainly have missed having them behind us. It’s been really tough, but I imagine it would have been even tougher for them sitting at home having to watch it on a TV screen rather than in the stadium. ‘We encourage everyone to enjoy the match at home, very much support the team as best you can with family and friends and stay at home. We’ll miss you but, hopefully, we can get a big result for you.’