Shane Duffy has opened up on the form slump that has put his place in the Celtic side in doubt.
At the start of September the defender joined Celtic on a season long loan that was regarded as a critical signing to add steal and leadership to the hoops defence.
After almost nine months without much football Duffy found himself badly exposed as he joined a team that was geared towards attacking after two seasons of backs to the wall football at Brighton where the emphasis was firmly on defending.
Duffy has played in a back three and back four with Celtic with six different players but despite the circumstances has come up short of his own expectations as he told RTE after Ireland lost 3-0 to England at Wembley:
It’s a difficult time, but I’m not the first footballer to go through it and I won’t be the last. I’m mentally strong and I can deal with this kind of stuff. It’s just a tough time where performances sometimes don’t go where you want.
I’m positive. I’ve got managers who believe in me, and I believe in myself. I’ve got good family and friends around me who push me, and good pros who have been there and done it.
That’s what I’ve got to do –Â keep cracking on. I know it just doesn’t change overnight. So I’ll keep trying, keep learning. It’ll take a lot more than what they’re doing at the minute to keep me down.
On Sunday Ireland travel to Wales for a Nations League tie before completing their campaign at home to Bulgaria on Wednesday.