John Kennedy was pleased with the Celtic debuts of Christopher Jullien and Luca Connell against Rennes today.
A goal-less draw against the French side didn’t throw up too many highlights but with the new bhoys getting 57 minutes they have both taken their first steps towards competitive action.
At £7m fans will be hoping that Jullien will be in the side to play FK Sarajevo on Wednesday but Kennedy will wait to see how he reacts to today’s outing before the management team get around to picking the team for the return leg against the Bosnian champions.
“Christopher has had a longer period off than our guys,” the hoops assistant manager told the club website. “So for him it’s about getting the fitness and sharpness back.
“He’s a big guy who takes a bit of time to get going when his fitness is down, but in terms of where he was when he came in and where he is now, we’re seeing a big difference in how he’s moving, his fitness levels and his sharpness. We’ll continue working that and now that he’s had a game under his belt he comes into contention.
“And Luca is a guy who’s got talent. He came in and did very well at Bolton. He’s been around the Irish squad and we spoke to people there who rate him very highly. We brought him here because of his talent.”
Leigh Griffiths ad Craig Gordon both made their first Celtic Park appearance of the season with 22 players giving game time.
Mikey Johnston and Boli Mbombo picked up knocks against Sarajevo with Jack Hendry, Vakoun Bayo, Marion Shved joining Kieran Tierney and Tom Rogic in the rehab process.
