Celtic supporters have been rallying around new signing Shane Duffy as excitement builds ahead of his potential Hoops debut this weekend.
The towering centre-back, who signed for the club on a year-long loan deal last week, has had a disappointing few days since his move was announced.
Despite netting for Ireland in Bulgaria to salvage a draw, Duffy and co were frustrated not to take three points in what was a winnable contest. It was then followed up with a shock 1-0 loss at home to Finland last night. It left Duffy’s Ireland with just one point out of a possible six.
The Brighton-owned star himself admitted that he just wants to play every week to get his fitness levels up (Independent.ie). And it appears the Celtic supporters still can’t wait to see him pull on the Hoops either.
Reacting to Duffy’s post where he reflected on his Ireland disappointment, the Hoops fans were out in their numbers to back him. Here’s a look at some of the reaction below:
https://twitter.com/James34728098/status/1302718754607030273
Time for the real business Shane
Relating international football to pre-season seems ridiculous, but in a way that’s what those two games represented for Duffy in a realistic manner. It gave him the opportunity to build up his fitness levels further before he arrives in Glasgow.
Yes, six Nations League points out of six was always going to be the target for Ireland. But for a player who hadn’t played since June, you can’t expect Duffy to just stroll into the international scene and make it look like child’s play.
It’s no wonder that the Celtic fans aren’t concerned after watching Ireland over the last week. So many of the Republic’s players are still in the pre-season stage of their campaigns. Duffy included. All of his preparation would’ve been based on gearing up for the start of the Premier League in England this weekend.
So in that sense, he’ll be good to go against Ross County on Saturday if selected. It’s a shame that his first match may not be at a packed venue or indeed Celtic Park, but he’ll thrive under the physical nature of the battle with County’s Ross Stewart.
Stewart managed to tower over the Celtic defence last year to head home a goal for the Staggies in Dingwall. Duffy has a real chance now to make an instant impact and ensure that won’t be happening again this term.
Despite the Irishman’s disappointment over the last week, he has the full backing of the Celtic support. That won’t change either.
In other news, a Dutch journalist has tweeted that one of Celtic’s reported targets isn’t interested in a move this summer.
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