Everton defender Seamus Coleman has admitted that he’s been watching “a lot” of Celtic games this season, and doesn’t believe Shane Duffy to be one of the major problems.
Duffy signed for the Hoops on a season-long loan from Brighton in the summer. However, almost instantly, his confidence bombed after high-profile errors against Rangers and in European football. So much so that he’s now a bench-warmer at Parkhead and behind young prodigy Stephen Welsh in the pecking order.
His incredible decline has come as a major surprise to many. He’s been a regular in the Premier League over the years and was a key part of Brighton consolidating themselves in the division.
However, Coleman has backed Duffy as he claimed his Ireland team-mate isn’t the reason for Celtic’s decline.
As quoted by BT Sport, Coleman said: “Shane Duffy is a warrior, Shane Duffy is a leader, I think all us Irish people have seen that over the years with his performances.
“Listen, he’s not had the easiest time over in Scotland. I’ve watched the games that he’s played and I don’t think Shane Duffy is the reason why things aren’t going the way they wanted up there, there’s a lot of other reasons, I’m sure, for it. He doesn’t sulk, he’s a great character around the place, he’s a warrior and he had a tough time, and jumped on a plane to get back to work, maybe quicker than most people would, so I think Shane Duffy has done enough
“He has enough credit in the bank for his country for us to keep supporting him.”
Seamus Coleman spot on; Celtic failures this season can’t be pointed solely at Shane Duffy; he’s just a by-product
Spot on from Seamus Coleman. He states that he watches the club a lot which suggests he’s a fan of the Hoops. And in fairness to him, nothing he says here is wrong. Duffy is nowhere near the main reason for Celtic’s decline this season.
In fact, when he joined the club he was well known for being dominant in the air and aggressive in the challenge. He knew how to deal with powerful centre-forwards having come up against them down south.
However, having come up to Scotland, it was as if he forgot all about it. In truth, he was defending in a different style than he’s used to. At Celtic, Duffy has had to try and adapt to playing in a high line. That’s not the same as what he experienced with Brighton, who sit deep and look to hit on the counter.
Duffy didn’t have the attributes Celtic needed
Much of Celtic’s play revolves around distribution out from the back. This is another area Duffy clearly doesn’t excel in. He’s failed to adapt his game to what Celtic need from him. The finger has to be pointed at Neil Lennon and Head of Football Operations Nick Hammond for signing him in the first place.
He clearly didn’t have the attributes necessary to play the way Celtic did under the former manager. Dismal in-game management, poor signings, and ignorance at the board-room level is the reason we’ve been so poor for so long this season. Duffy has played his part, but he’s simply a by-product of the monstrous season we created this year.
He’ll head back to Brighton for a fresh start in the summer. Celtic, meanwhile, will kickstart a new era of their own. In the meantime, you can watch Shane in action tonight for Ireland on Sky Sports Football.
In other news, a manager who claimed he would “love” to face Celtic this season has just suffered a calamitous setback.
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