If you’re not performing, why would they get in touch with you? Loan striker opens up on his Celtic status

Johnny Kenny has opened up on the struggles to make an impact at Celtic.

Liam Scales is having the sort of season that every project signing dreams of but life is a bit different for Kenny, on loan for the second season at Shamrock Rovers following half a season at Queens Park.

Signed in January 2022 from Sligo Rovers where he had hit the goal trail and impressed for the Ireland u-19 side the young striker found that there was no real pathway towards Ange Postecoglou’s first team squad.

Back in the League of Ireland Kenny’s career is again moving in a positive direction but it would take a very unlikely set of circumstances to push him into the Celtic first team.

Asked about his relationship with Celtic, Kenny told the Irish Independent:

To be honest, very little interaction. Last year, I don’t think I heard once. This year, it’s a bit better. Darren O’Dea has stepped into that kind of role, another Irishman, and I’ve heard more this year but interaction is minimal.

I hope as I perform, it gets better. If you’re not performing, why would they get in touch with you?

I’m out of contract next summer, 2025, and where that takes us, I don’t know. I’m happy here at the moment, I’m scoring in consecutive games a few times and I have confidence, but my focus is Friday because they [Shels] have what we want at the moment.

Later in the interview Kenny discussed the magnitude of the task facing a striker at Celtic, citing the example of Adam Idah:

No disrespect to him [Idah], but Kyogo [Furuhashi] is the man. Adam has come on loan and I don’t know if he expected it to go as well as it has. I have to be that and better if I want to have a chance of playing for Celtic.

After recent experiences it seems certain that Brendan Rodgers’ summer transfer activity will be concentrated on first team ready arrivals.

As well as Idah Celtic have been linked with Aberdeen’s Bojan Miovski which isn’t likely to improve Kenny’s prospects with Oh Hyeon-gyu also at the club.