Celtic youngster Kerr McInroy impressing Steven Whittaker and Stevie Crawford at Dunfermline

By David Walton

November 24, 2020

Celtic youngster Kerr McInroy is impressing many at Dunfermline, including manager Stevie Crawford and ex-Rangers man Steven Whittaker.

McInroy was sent down to the Championship club in the summer for a season-long loan agreement, and it’s fair to stay he’s started the campaign in fine fashion. He’s featured in six of a possible seven matches for the Pars this season and has played all 90 minutes in each of their last three games (Transfermarkt).

The Lennoxtown hopeful produced his most effective display against Championship favourites Hearts on Friday night, bagging his first assist since joining  Crawford’s side in a 2-1 win. With five of his appearances ending in victories, it’s clear to see he’s finding some success as he starts to dominate games for his new club.

And his performances are clearly impressing manager Crawford and team-mate Whittaker. Speaking in comments published by the Courier, here’s what both had to say on McInroy after Friday’s game:

Crawford: “Kerr was a player I seen a good few years ago in a reserve game and I think he’s got a cultured left foot and, physically, he’s not frightened of the game at this level as well. He’s very good on the ball in terms of his weight of pass and vision.”

Whittaker: “Kerr was fantastic on Friday night. I’ve known about him for a while and I’m just glad he’s getting the platform to show his abilities. It’s just the usual, we expect that from him because we know he’s a good player so I’m sure he’ll continue to get his chance to impress.”

McInroy starting to build something at Dunfermline

The Courier provided an extensive analysis of McInroy’s performance against Hearts on Friday night, and stated that he won 75% of his individual duels and managed five interceptions throughout the contest. This was the highest of any Dunfermline player on both counts.

McInroy’s heat map against Hearts was also tremendously impressive, as it showed the Celtic hopeful to be all over the pitch in what was clearly a tireless display from him.

The Lennoxtown youngster is one of the names in the frame when it comes to being Scott Brown’s successor. With the Celtic captain’s contract up at the end of the season, McInroy has a battle on his hands to take over Brown’s position. However, he’s putting some nice building blocks in place over in Fife.

Celtic youngster Kerr McInroy with Dunfermline (Photo by Euan Cherry/SNS Group via Getty Images)

Nothing but showing himself to be a cut above Championship level will be acceptable this season. Consistent game-time combined with inconsistent performance levels won’t do the midfielder any favours. If he’s to take Brown’s jersey, he has to be the key man in Crawford’s side. So far, he’s working his way up towards that.

When he comes back there’s going to be some amount of competition around him. Olivier Ntcham, Ismaila Soro, Luca Connell, David Turnbull, and Scott Robertson will all likely be around when it comes to that central midfield spot. So bagging some top performances and positive PR is exactly what he should be aiming for this year.

But it’s clear his start to life in the Championship couldn’t be going any better.

In other news, new 67HH writer Euan Davidson discusses why Charlie Nicholas’ latest negative Celtic rant is anything but accurate.