John Kennedy believes Celtic are gradually improving their performance levels since Neil Lennon left several weeks ago.
When Neil Lennon departed, the performances hadn’t been great. Yes Celtic had been on a run of five wins before Lennon’s final defeat at Ross County. But Celtic hadn’t been dominating many of those games, with not too many chances being created on a consistent basis.
Since Kennedy has taken charge, he’s shown inefficiencies in other areas. When it comes to substitution and player positions – he has a lot to learn. But he does believe that he’s noticed a pattern of improvement in how long we’re dominating games for.
Indeed, since Lennon’s departure, the interim boss feels the performances have been more dominant for a longer period of time. As well as that, he thinks the team is bouncing back from in-game blows more effectively.
“Something we’ve tried to address”
As quoted by the Herald, Kennedy said: “I think you have seen that (fragility) at times and it’s something we’ve tried address. When you get a set back it’s how you respond to it. That can be the bigger picture like dealing with losing a cup, or whether it’s in a game like conceding a goal.
“I think we saw on Sunday a team that quickly regrouped. We got hold of the ball again and control of the game. You could see we were quickly passing it about and getting that confidence back again. We felt our way back in to the match, whereas in the past we’ve maybe been caught thinking about it too much, looking nervy and agitated – and we’ve fallen to pieces a bit.
“But we brought a bit of calmness back to the play on Sunday. When you do that it’s about creating more chances and hopefully scoring goals. It’s something we’ve tried to address. In the three games, we were very good in the first half against Aberdeen, in the second, not so much, with a bit of stress in there. Dundee United, we were very good for 60 or 70 minutes. On Sunday we had control for the 90 minutes, there were not any moments when I felt we were off it.”
Celtic performance levels have improved under Kennedy since Neil Lennon left, but what does it actually mean?
I actually don’t believe you can disagree with Kennedy too much with his main point. He’s right in that Celtic are showing greater inner strength to respond to setbacks. We showed that on Sunday after Rangers’ equaliser. Even at Tannadice on Sunday, Celtic came out in the second half full of gusto despite failing to make their dominance count in the opening 45.
And he’s also right in stating that the performances are getting better for longer. Against Utd and Rangers, Celtic have indeed been impressive. In truth, both displays were enjoyable to watch with a host of opportunities being created.
Kennedy has, to an extent, been let down by his players’ decision-making in the final third. Too often have we seen the likes of Odsonne Edouard, Callum McGregor, and Ryan Christie be too greedy going forward.
But even so, Kennedy has let himself down in other aspects. The timing and content of his substitutions are baffling. Whilst, up the other end, we still concede too many chances from cross-balls. That’s another thing he’s failed to sort out.
Improved performance levels mean nothing if you aren’t getting results. Many of these players will likely leave in the summer, so there is no reason to think better displays is something to shout about at this stage. It’s not September after all.
All we have to hope for between now and the summer is ending Rangers’ unbeaten league campaign and securing the Scottish Cup. After that, Celtic will be ripping up and starting again. So forgive us as Celtic supporters if we aren’t salivating at one or two decent performances.
In other news, another Celtic youngster has followed Luca Connell and Ryan Mullen out of Lennoxtown.
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