‘As a coach, John is who I look up to... he produced one of the world’s best left-backs’ Kennedy keen to bring focus back
Brown backs Kennedy to get the best out of Celtic and points to ‘brilliant’ training
CELTIC’S frailties at set pieces this season have proved costly and were to blame for them losing 1-0 to Ross County up in Dingwall on Sunday in what proved to be Neil Lennon’s final match as manager.
But Scott Brown, who was one of those who failed to deal with the Harry Paton free-kick that Jordan White headed home in the second half of the Premiership game in the Highlands, had little difficulty leaping to the defence of John Kennedy yesterday.
Kennedy, who was put in temporary charge of the first team until the end of the 2020/21 campaign on Wednesday, has been savaged by some supporters this season as a result of the Parkhead club’s dire displays at the back.
The former Scotland centrehalf is one of the contenders to replace Lennon on a permanent basis this summer. After their woeful campaign, the prospect of him taking over isn’t an appealing one for many fans. They believe it is time for a complete clearout and change of direction.
Brown, though, feels the criticism of the assistant has been completely unjustified. He is happy his compatriot has stepped up and filled the considerable void left by the man who secured the quadruple treble back in December.
He is confident the 37-yearold, who helped to bring through Kieran Tierney (inset) during his time as a youth coach at Lennoxtown, has all the qualities and knowledge needed to become a top manager in the future. “We’re lucky that John is still here as he knows all the lads inside out,” the club captain said. “He’s been here long enough so he knows what the club is all about. He’s been taking a lot of the training sessions anyway. “It’s easy enough for everyone to get behind him. We’ve got to try and focus and get results again. That’s what John wants us to try and do. It’s not about him or anybody else. It’s about us altogether.
“When everything isn’t going so well it is always everyone’s fault. There is always a lot of blaming. But John has been fantastic for this club since I came here as a player and a staff member. His training is brilliant as is his dedication to the club.
“He is in here until eight o’clock most nights and he is working on all sorts of things. He has that drive to become a top-quality manager and coach and he has been showing that week in, week out with Brendan [Rodgers] and Neil, both of whom put a lot of faith and a lot of trust in him.”
Brown added: “As a coach, John is the one I look up to. He sits and studies football, whether it is any league in the world. He watches players, shapes and styles and tries to take the positives out of any situation.
“He is fantastic with the kids coming through, but he has also been fantastic with the first-team players that have come through under Brendan and Neil. There are a lot of players out there who will be thanking John and Neil for pretty much everything that they have done.
“John has brought a lot of the young players through. He has nurtured them and he produced Kieran who is probably one of the best left backs in the world right now, to be perfectly honest. He has helped every single person at this club over the last eight or nine years that I have known him.”
Brown revealed that
Kennedy has been responsible for more than just the Celtic defence since becoming assistant and stressed that he and all of his team mates must accept full responsibility for the goals they have conceded at home and abroad.
“It is easy enough just because he was a defender as a coach to blame him for the set-plays,” he said. “John is not just a defensive coach. John takes attacking set-plays, shooting drills, he takes the midfielders, he takes defenders, he takes the strikers, he does everything.
“You can’t just give him the defensive one. We have to take the brunt for that. People can put you in shape because it is the players who need to defend the ball, head the ball and clear the ball.”
Brown is currently in the process of completing his coaching qualifications and is keen to move into that side of the game when he retires from playing. His current contract expires at the end of May and he turns 36 in June. Will he make the switch this summer? Or will he wait until the new manager is confirmed and then decide after talking to him?
“I am not 100-per-cent sure if I am honest,” he said. “I take it one game at a time and go
FOR the first time in seven seasons, John Kennedy will not find himself a member of a title-winning backroom team this summer. If the unravelling of Celtic’s domestic dominance has been a shock this term, Kennedy’s focus remains on what lies ahead, whatever that may be.
With an air of uncertainty, the prevailing mood at Celtic as a substantial restructure looms at the end of what has been an exceptional era, the interim manager is keen to restore a sense of calmness as the Parkhead side see out the remainder of a calamitous campaign without further drama.
And after a turbulent three months in which the departed Neil Lennon was the focal point for the failures of the season, Kennedy offered a tacit reminder to the playing squad that they have underperformed throughout this season and regardless of what comes next for there is an immediate responsibility to the shirt they currently sport.
“It’s about putting demands on them [the players] and giving them more responsibility,” he said. “They are not children – they are professional adults. We’ve tried to steady things and bring clarity in the last couple of days after a very muddled time with the emotions around people losing their jobs.
“It’s a case of bringing things together. If you listen to too many voices and opinions you can start to doubt things. You need to trust each other. I’ve been saying to the players in the last couple of days to believe in each other. These guys will admit they have underperformed this season but at the same time most of them are treble winners and won trophies every season.
“It’s about going back and saying, ‘what makes us good?’ I know it’s about results, but results are the outcome of what you do. We have to think about all the things that made us good. It might be you need determination to get that winner or stop that goal to get you over the line in certain games.”
There is little that will salvage the campaign – results over Rangers from the two remaining fixtures against the Ibrox side might salvage a little pride – and there will be no hiding place for Kennedy if results remain erratic. His reputation tainted this term because of the failed campaign, he is nevertheless undaunted by what he has inherited.
“Everyone sees things differently and has an opinion, which is fine,” he said. “I’ve always approached it with the view I love challenges. This has been the most challenging season I’ve had in my coaching career. It’s been tough, it’s been disappointing, none more so than for Neil, and myself assisting him. But you have to realise how to fix it and bring it back rather than go to pieces.
“It’s about doing the right things to help the club and the team. If the performances come, then the results come, and if the results come, everything is always much better at the club.”
Kennedy also suspects that this week will have hammered home to Lennon how mentally debilitating the last few months of his second managerial stint at the club were.
“He probably got to the point where the light wasn’t there for him anymore,” said Kennedy. “He’s had a helluva lot of criticism this year and has had to stand out there every matchday.
“Probably, in a way [he will be relieved]. Without thinking that beforehand. There have been a number of challenges this year with different things and Neil as the manager has dealt with it all. He’s a strong guy, a strong character and has shown very good leadership behind the scenes dealing with all this and staying calm.
“For anyone, it must be exhausting – but Neil never showed that. But probably when he sits back now, as much as he’d love to be in a better position and still be here driving it forward again, he’s been through an exhausting time.”