Three days after winning the SFA Youth Cup at Hampden Celtic return to league duty against Hearts this morning, kick off 11am at Firhill.
With both domestic trophies bagged it’ll be a youngish looking side on show as plans get underway for next season.
The disappointment of losing the Glasgow Cup Final was softened by the displays of Paul McMullan and Liam Henderson with McMullan earning a place on the bench at Hampden and a brief cameo role to collect a winners medal.
Switching from u-19 to an u-20 set up has asked a lot of the younger element in the Celtic squad but John Kennedy, who made his first team debut at 16, is delighted with the way the youngest players are making their mark on the club.
“Three of the starting XI were playing u-17 last season plus Denny Johnstone came off the bench to score,” the Celtic coach stated. “Players are making the step up and handling the occasion.
“In the past couple of weeks Jamie Lindsay has been a revelation for us and scored a few goals. He’s been very positive, that’s what we want to see.
“Stewart Findlay has did well for us, he’s been a mainstay in the team and I’ve high hopes for him. Eoghan O’Connell is only a year and a half into full time football, from a small team in Ireland, and he’s developing well.
“There are a lot of good players at the club, hopefully people recognise that. Paul McMullan was terrific in the Glasgow Cup Final, he earned a place on the bench and got on for a few minutes, that experience will stand him in good stead for the future.”
Celtic’s success was barely recognised outwith the club with Kennedy rightly proud of recent achievements.
“The players deserve every bit of credit they get,” he added. “Hopefully they get credit because sometimes when Celtic win things it gets overlooked. Some people think it’s expected but it’s not.
“They overcame a lot of obstacles to get to Hampden and played well against Dunfermline.
“As a team it’s a great achievement for everybody, to win the double four years running is a massive ask and they’ve responded brilliantly.”
