Hughes accuses Quaner of ‘conning’ the ref by diving as County pay penalty
Why Kennedy is strong contender for Celtic’s sporting director post
‘WAIT till you see the penalty,’ hollered Ross County manager John Hughes from the edge of the technical area as he performed a diving motion with his hands. ‘Embarrassing’.
Whether it was directed at Greg Aitken or not, the referee was certainly looking in his direction. Hughes was waiting for him at time-up as well, in his ear on their way up the tunnel to the dressing rooms.
His frustration, whatever the rights and wrongs of Saints being awarded Jamie McGrath’s match-winning penalty for a supposed foul by Leo Hjelde on substitute Collin Quaner, was understandable.
County hadn’t offered much as an attacking force in the first half but Hughes rejigged the team at the break and saw them run the show in the second 45 — hitting the bar twice and seeing one effort cleared off the line before their fate was sealed eight minutes from the end.
Quaner, not seen since being injured on his debut at St Johnstone last month and thrown on for Dylan Connolly, did seem to go down easily under pressure from Hjelde from behind. After seeing McGrath send keeper Ross Laidlaw the wrong way to take the points and end a run of four draws for the Buddies with a win, Hughes called on the authorities to take tougher action on simulation.
‘Referees have a tough job and you have to make a decision instantly,’ he said. ‘When it happened, our video guy said it was never a penalty, so he’s been conned.
‘He flung his leg out there. It’s not even a free-kick in the middle of pitch. With what’s at stake, boys playing for livelihoods, you’re wanting these decisions to be correct, but who would be a ref?
‘He gets paid and he needs to make it spot on. If that’s where the game has gone, maybe we’re too honest.
‘I’m not going to point the finger at the ref. He made an honest decision but once he sees it, he’ll know he’s been conned, so it’s about the authorities to do something about that.’
Of course, the whole thing left St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin, now needing one more win to secure a top-six finish, in a mild pickle.
Not so long ago, he was calling out divers in the game. He insists Quaner didn’t cheat, but concedes it was hardly a stonewall spot-kick either.
‘I thought a draw would have been fair,’ said Goodwin. ‘I don’t think it was a dive. Collin has got the wrong side of the defender.
‘It was soft, no doubt. I’ve made my opinions clear on penalties given against us and I’m not going to try to pull the wool over people’s eyes and say it was stonewall, but that’s the way the game has gone.
‘If we don’t do something about it, that’s what happens. I don’t think it was simulation. There was slight contact. Was there enough to make the big man go over? I’ll have to have a look.’
Saints also felt they could have been awarded a penalty eight minutes before the break. Captain Joe Shaughnessy was caught in the face by a flailing arm as he challenged for the ball, but it didn’t look intentional at first glance.
After a first half edged by the Buddies, on 53 minutes the woodwork saved their bacon twice.
First up, Jordan White moved onto a Jason Naismith cross and must have felt he’d scored with his header from point-blank range. Alnwick, though, threw his arms up instinctively and somehow turned the ball onto the underside of the bar.
White failed to convert the rebound and the ball worked its way out to Stephen Kelly, whose thunderous effort rattled the bar again before bouncing to safety.
County felt they could have been given a penalty 20 minutes from time when a Harry Paton corner appeared to strike Quaner’s arm.
Then Alex Iacovitti got on the end of another Paton corner to beat Alnwick on the volley, but sub Cammy MacPherson popped up at the back post to head it off the line.
County substitute Jordan Tillson squandered a great chance to equalise in the final minute, sending the ball wide from yards out.
IT was interesting to hear Brendan Rodgers issue a call in midweek for Celtic to install a director of football in the wake of Neil Lennon’s departure. One of Rodgers’ final acts at Parkhead was to encourage the board to make a similar appointment. His chosen candidate? John Kennedy.
The move never did come to fruition, nor did the intended structural revamp that would have left the club in better shape to absorb the Northern Irishman’s sudden flit to Leicester City.
Now, however, a new wind is about to blow through Parkhead. The departure of Peter Lawwell this summer will see a new chief executive installed, with the incoming Dominic McKay a known advocate of the two-tier management system.
The names of Fergal Harkin and David Webb have been suggested as early contenders for a new sporting director post, but Kennedy could again emerge as the most viable candidate, a man who would offer continuity, a top-to-bottom knowledge of the club and, most importantly, a skill-set better suited to the role than many would give him credit for.
Placed in interim charge of the first team following Lennon’s
resignation, Kennedy’s
It’s about what’s right for the club and not what’s good for me
immediate priority is to stabilise the dressing-room and restore a bit of pride and hope to a supporter base disconnected and disaffected by the collapse of their ten-in-a-row dream.
But, now 37 and with a long coaching education at his back, he has his own ambitions.
Frontline management holds appeal and, between now and May, he will inevitably be drawn towards putting together a run of results that places him in contention to be Lennon’s permanent successor.
Just last season, Kennedy was approached by Hibs regarding the managerial position vacated by Paul Heckingbottom but, after careful consideration, decided to stay as Lennon’s assistant.
‘In my whole career and life, I don’t have regrets,’ says Kennedy of the decision to reject Hibs.
‘I very much evaluate any decision I make and I go with it, I fully commit and then what will be, will be.
‘I trust myself to make the right decision. You always reflect on it and question things.
‘But, in terms of the current situation, it’s about what’s right for the club and not my agenda and what’s good for me.’
Kennedy gained plenty of insight into the role of player recruitment following his early retirement from playing in his 20s.
In 2010, he was appointed as firstteam scout and contributed to the squad rebuild undertaken during Lennon’s first stint in charge.
Later he gravitated to a first-team coaching role, where he augmented the duo of Ronny Deila and John Collins and was retained by Rodgers in 2016.
The Irishman overhauled Celtic’s coaching structure and was so impressed with Kennedy that not only did he endorse the potential move upstairs but later tried to lure him to Leicester along with Chris Davies and Kolo Toure.
Specifically on the role of director of football, Kennedy is coy.
‘That is probably not one for me to decide or comment on,’ he states. ‘But it is something that has become more normal around Europe and in the UK now.
‘Football has evolved on and off the pitch and other clubs seem to have it. The board will be the ones who make a decision on whether that’s the right thing for Celtic.’
Celtic’s current head of recruitment, Nick Hammond, is not expected to survive the imminent restructure, largely on account of the spectacular £10million failing of last summer’s marquee signings Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti.
With the current squad also bloated with expensive loan men Shane Duffy, Diego Laxalt, Mohammed Elyounoussi and Jonjoe Kenny, there will be significant player turnover even before the concerns of Odsonne Edouard, Kristoffer Ajer and Ryan Christie are addressed as they enter the final years of their contracts.
The new sporting director would face a bulging in-tray. Kennedy at least would have a head start on what needs to be done.
‘Every squad, whether you are successful or not, evolves,’ he says. ‘Even in successful times, you come to the summer and there’s still a number of players in and out.
‘Certainly, we’ve collectively under-performed on several occasions this season.
‘We’ve got to address that. Rangers have done very well, not dropped much at all, and we’ve been the opposite.
‘A lot of the guys who have won trophies and trebles are still here and in good periods in their career.
‘But ultimately this season we’ve not done enough to hit the heights we expect to reach. ‘In terms of reconstruction, it’s always there. We are in a situation where several players are going into the last year of their contracts. ‘There will be some looking elsewhere and players out of contract. That’s something that will be addressed going forward.’
Having shown no appetite to sign a new deal and indeed switched to a new agency mid-season, Edouard is likely to be sold this summer.
A fee to make Olivier Ntcham’s loan permanent has also been agreed with Marseille. Norwegian Ajer is ambitious but, at 22, is young enough to at least be worth approaching regarding a new contract.
Christie has looked unhappy for much of this season but while he also harbours hope of playing in England, he may also be open to sticking around for another year if the right offer is on the table.
‘The club will have an idea how they see that,’ added Kennedy. ‘I have been here long enough that if they want me to have an input (on contracts) then I will certainly say what I need to say.
‘Decisions will need to be made but my main focus is to bring everyone together. To point everyone in the right direction and attack the games the way we know we can, get results and bring a better spirit to the place.
‘And also to restore some pride.
‘WE HAVE TAKEN SEVERAL HITS THIS SEASON AND IT’S ABOUT GOING OUT AND HAVING PRIDE’
We have taken several hits this season and it’s about going out there and having pride in how we conduct ourselves and how we play.
‘That in turn gives a bit of pride back to everyone else who is associated with the club.’
It’s long been suspected that Lawwell, if not the club’s major shareholder Dermot Desmond, viewed Kennedy as a future Celtic manager.
A grandson of club legend Jimmy Delaney, a first-team debutant aged 16 and a defensive talent cherished by Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan, Kennedy confronted the worst kind of adversity early in his promising playing career as he was scythed down on his Scotland debut against Romania.
That knee injury would ultimately force his retirement but not before he claimed a league medal on his comeback appearance and then played in the Champions League.
His strength of character is not, then, in doubt. Nor should his understanding of the psyche of the club’s support be underestimated.
To many he is inextricably linked with the failures of Lennon’s last season in charge but it is also true that he played a crucial and varied role in each of the nine seasons that led to this point.
Those days scouting for John Park helped bring the likes of Beram Kayal and Victor Wanyama (left) to Celtic while he also played a significant role in accelerating Kieran Tierney’s progress from academy to first team, a fact reflected in the good luck message Tweeted out by the £25m Arsenal defender on Thursday night.
Kennedy acknowledges the team’s shortcomings at repelling set-pieces this season but insists defensive organisation has not been the prime failing.
‘Whether it’s at centre-back or elsewhere in the team, you always try to address any issues,’ he adds.
‘Obviously, we have encountered an issue at set-plays in a number of games and it has not been good enough. We have given away too many soft goals and when you do that you put yourself on the back foot and under pressure.
‘The emotion of both that pressure and the season this is can bring bad decisions.
‘I have seen that from certain players who I know are very good and will do the right thing if they are calm. It’s about stripping things back for the players and making them realise what makes them good collectively.
‘When they do that the guys who have the extra bit of brilliance, the creativity and goals, it will naturally come anyway.’
Less likely to vent his emotions than Lennon, Kennedy, who began his spell as interim boss with a 1-0 win over Aberdeen yesterday, will set a new tone for the players over the next few weeks. Where it leads will be intriguing, especially if he can land a blow or two on Steven Gerrard’s champions elect in the two remaining fixtures against Rangers.
‘I’m really not worried about what comes in the coming months,’ he insists. ‘I trust myself in terms of coming in here every day and putting effort into everything I can.
‘This is not a time for me thinking, what if this happens? What if that happens? The only thing I’m focusing on is to make sure I’m setting the right example and try to win as many games as possible.’
Kennedy might not be everyone’s idea of Celtic’s next manager. But don’t bet against him moving upstairs.