Celtic told the ‘brilliant’ Hoops player injury prevented from going ‘to the top’

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Ross Wallace played for Celtic at a peak era of the club’s history.

Celtic had talent all over the pitch including former Premier League winners, international stars and everything in between. Henrik Larsson was the key man for Martin O’Neill’s side but there were plenty of others close to the Swede.

Wallace was a kid during his time in Glasgow before he would forge a career down south in the Prem and the Championship with the likes of Sunderland, Burnley and Sheffield Wednesday.

One star Wallace notes as underrated is Paul Lambert who was the club captain at the time. But it was another player who was just starting out in his professional career that he feels could have gone all the way to the top.

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Ross Wallace says John Kennedy would have been a Premier League star after Celtic

John Kennedy had burst onto the scene at Celtic and was playing for the first-team at 16. And had it not been for a career-ending horror injury in a Scotland tie – re-injured for the Hoops against Shakhtar Donetsk – Wallace reckons he could have become a top Premier League defender had he not retired at 26.

“We had a good group there to be fair,” he told Under the Cosh podcast. “McGeady, myself, Shaun Maloney, John Kennedy.

“Brilliant players. John Kennedy if he never got his injury would have been an unbelievable player. He’d have been playing in the Premier League no doubt about it.

“We used to do young vs old, with Larsson and Sutton. He used to hold his own. Very good, not many kept Larsson quiet, he was brilliant.”

Kennedy’s Celtic coaching history under different managers

Kennedy may not have played long enough in the game due to his brutal luck but the coach has excelled at Celtic Park.

The big former defender has worked under several top managers in Glasgow including Ronny Deila, Neil Lennon, Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers.

And that has only helped him hone his craft as a coach, firstly, and then as assistant manager.

Postecoglou wanted to take Kennedy to Tottenham with him after he left before Rodgers was able to keep him in Scotland.

And you have to think it’s only a matter of time before he becomes a boss in his own right.