Celtic was a difficult time for me- confession of a lockdown loanee

For Celtic fans the name Jonjoe Kenny will forever bring back flashbacks of the worst season in at least a generation. 

The full-back wasn’t solely to blame for the miseries of last season but the mention of his name will revive memories of watching a slow moving car crash from a stream inside errily quiet football stadiums. 

As well as rebuilding the squad and reviving the support Ange Postecoglou’s side have gone a long way to blanking out the memories of the disastrous 2020/21 season. 

Last January Hatem Abd Elhamed and Jeremie Frimpong were sold to balance the books, rather than turn to Tony Ralston Neil Lennon went for the shiny EPL replacement in the shape of Kenny. 

With EPL experience and England u-21 caps in his locker it looked a steady replacement, if things went well there was the possibility of making the deal permanent with Everton showing no sign of renewing his Goodison contract. 

Like everything else last season the move turned out to be disastrous, incredibly Kenny is back in favour at Everton under Frank Lampard with Scotland starlet Nathan Patterson still waiting for his debut. 

Reflecting on the last 12 months, Kenny told the Everton website: 

I knew my chance was going to come, just not when it would come, and wanted to make sure I was ready. I made everything down to me, changed what I needed to and tried to get rid of excuses, which is difficult. I didn’t want to be giving the excuse that I wasn’t ready or didn’t take my opportunity. 

Celtic was a difficult period for me, off the pitch, especially. But having close family and friends and my agent and good mentors around me, and choosing that path and having these people who can really help me progress, changed a lot of things for me mentally. 

I have had a lot of ups and downs but it is about staying at it and doing what I need and focusing on me. 

Kenny seems to have moved on, Celtic certainly have with Ralston and Josip Juranovic providing healthy competition at right-back. Last season the Everton defender made 16 appearances for Celtic.