John Kennedy: Question and Answer
It wasn’t too long ago that Kennedy was the emerging young player that supporters were talking about but in his new role he’s getting almost as much pleasure from helping shape the future of the next batch of Celtic hopefulls.
The supporters who watched last night’s 2-1 win over Manchester City couldn’t help but be impressed by what they watched as the home side pressed the game confidently, scored two well taken goals then showed the resolve to defend their lead when City pulled a goal back.
After the game I spoke to Kennedy who was as impressive answering questions as his players were on the park.
Video Celts: That was a different type of performance from at Manchester City which was more swashbuckling but was there plenty for you to be pleased about?
John Kennedy: Definitely, we never played as well tonight as we did at Manchester City, tonight we showed a different side to our game. We did play well in periods and scored some good goals but at the same time I thought that we worked really hard on our discipline whenever Man City came into the game.
We knew that they’d come into it at some points, they have some good players and if you give good players time on the ball and space they can hurt you. I thought in the second half we had to knuckle down for the final period of the game, the boys did that so all credit to them
VC: As a coach can you take more satisfaction from seeing a performance like that when it’s not all flowing football and great passing?
JK: Yes, you learn a lot about players sometimes when the game turns and you are under the cosh a bit. For a good 60 minutes of the game I though we were the better side, I thought that we had the better chances, from set-pieces we were dangerous and probably should have been more in front but that’s the game of football. Two-nil can be a dangerous scoreline, one goal and they are straight back in it and that’s what happened, a sloppy goal from us but the boys reacted well, they knew that they had to get a grip of the game again and they did that.
Maybe we could have did a bit better when we were in possession for the final period of the game but they showed the character that you need at this club- character when teams do to come into games to see it out and win, that’s all part of their development
VC: I thought that Paul George was your top player down in Manchester, I would have gone for Dylan McGeough tonight, would you go along with that?
JK: I felt that everybody had a part to play. Rather than one stand out I thought that it was a good team performance, sometimes you can pick out somebody out but tonight considering the workrate they’ve all put in that would be unfair. They’ve played a lot of games recently, Man City made a few changes to their team, they were fresh, you could see that but our boys did really well, they worked really hard and you have to work and play as a team for your individuals to express themselves and I thought they did that pretty well.
VC: I don’t think that Celtic supporters are used to seeing a five man midfield but you seem to have the measure of it with so many options. Is it something that you work hard on, when you see the first team with five in midfield it can look as if there’s too many in there?
JK: We tend to play three in the middle and two wingers who are more advanced supporting Tony. The boys do it well, they are clever footballers when they can come in and interchange and rotate. That’s the licence that we give them, we don’t want one player being rigid to one position and being easy to pick up.
If we move the ball quickly with movement off the ball into different areas it gives teams problems. They are good footballers and there is no denying that. At the start of the season we wanted them into the mentality of working hard and you can definitely see it setting in now. The boys are really playing for each other and showing a great team spirit.
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JK: Stuart is a young boy but leading up to the game we had no hesitation in putting him in, we’ve used Jackson (Irvine) in there in recent weeks but we feel that he is a better midfielder. He gives you a lot from the middle of the park, Stuart has done well when he’s come in, he’s a young boy, only 16 and people forget that with his size. He is still developing but every game he plays he seems to be getting better and better, that’s what it’s all about. These games are to test the boys to the max, it does that and makes them shine, shows what they really have in the locker
VC: And onwards to Barcelona, how have Celtic developed since Barcelona came here
JK: You know what I’m going to say, it’s Kilmarnock first (Kennedy is really getting the hang of manager talk)
VC: Come on, you’re sounding like Stevie Frail!
JK: It’s Kilmarnock first, we have them in the cup but in regards to the Next Gen tournament it’s Barca next, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, we know what lies ahead. They are a good side, we’re going to have to be on top of our game to get a result.
VC: What is the feeling in the dressing room, do they feel that they played well tonight?
JK: It’s very easy to say go out and play this way every single game but it doesn’t happen like that. Teams come and make it difficult for you. Man City came and pressed us, put us under pressure and sometimes you don’t get the chance to play that way. It’s the other side, you have to work harder to make things happen, work harder off the ball to win it back. I thought that we played really well for periods in the game but also showed the other side needed and showed a real good attitude and work rate.
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