REDEEMING FEATURE
Kennedy vows to take ‘small steps’ in interim role
JOHN Kennedy will take “small steps” after becoming Celtic interim manager in the wake of Neil Lennon’s departure.
The Northern Irishman resigned on Wednesday with the Parkhead side trailing Rangers by 18 points at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Assistant manager Kennedy was placed in temporary charge ahead of the visit of Aberdeen tomorrow and he outlined his strategy to CelticTV.
He said: “I am going to take small steps, it is a challenging time for everyone. No one likes it when people lose their job, especially the manager who has worked ever so hard here.
“We have to get back to doing the basics well. We know performance-wise and results-wise, we have not always been there.
“There have been too many times this season when we have fallen short of what we expect and it is about bringing that back and a lot of it comes down to doing the basic things well, consistently.
“I want to strip that back, make the players believe in what we are trying to do.”
The former Celtic defender admits feeling “strange” to find himself in the hot seat. He said: “It is not one you are ever really fully expecting. We knew the situation in terms of where we were sitting collectively as a group. The club have asked me to step in at the moment and take charge of the team and obviously I’m more than happy to do that, but ultimately it is not about me, it is about doing the right thing for both the team and the club. That’s all I care about.”
Former Celtic captain Lennon took charge for a second spell in February 2019 when Brendan Rodgers left for Leicester and led the club to two titles, two Scottish Cups and a League Cup but impending failure to win a record-breaking 10th successive Premierships crown proved costly.
Kennedy paid tribute, saying: “Obviously times of late have been tough and everyone has felt that, none more so than Neil. I knew him from the past but I got to know him really well and he was giving his all to try to bring success.
“He knows better than anyone that this season we didn’t reach the levels we wanted to but he has given so much of his life to Celtic and he has had huge success so you have to remember the positives he brought to the club.”