Celtic’s u-20 side will attempt to pick themselves up from the disappointment of losing 2-0 to Al Ain on Thursday when they meet Inter Milan today in Abu Dhabi.
Back-to-back wins over Dinamo Zagreb and Benfica had taken the side into the semi-finals with confidence but that proved to be misplaced as the host side won 2-0.
Losing was tough enough to take but after two impressive performances John Kennedy was in no mood to go looking for excuses for losing to Al Ain.
Highlighting the fact that it was the teams third game in five days or that the temperature was in the mid thirties would have presented easy excuses but Kennedy was looking only at the team’s own shortcomings.
“We thought that we had a chance of winning the tournament but we never quite clicked in the semi-final,” the Celtic coach admitted. “We never played as we did in the first two games and it cost us.
“We just didn’t do the basics right, we didn’t play at a quick enough tempo and paid the price.
“The players are very disappointed but we have to pick ourselves up for playing against Inter Milan.
“It’s good to have another game to prepare for and we’ll freshen the team up. It’s a great match to have, they won the Next Gen last season and have a lot of quality in their side.
“We’ve shown in this tournament that we are a good side, beating Inter would be good for everyone before we head back home.
“The break has been good for us, when we get back there is a championship to aim for and a cup final that we’re looking forward to.”