Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny has explained why he’s called up Celtic defender Shane Duffy, as he stated he’s “in the frame” for the Hoops ahead of Sunday’s Rangers clash.
Duffy hasn’t featured in any of Celtic’s last four matches and has had a generally horrific season in Glasgow. Even so, he’s still managed to successfully bag a call-up for Ireland’s opening World Cup qualifying fixtures next week.
The on-loan Brighton centre-back will be available to play against Serbia, Luxembourg, and Qatar respectively. But that will only come after Sunday’s Glasgow derby at Celtic Park – a fixture Duffy performed dreadfully in back in October.
But Kenny believes he’s got a chance of playing against the Ibrox side this weekend, and has explained his call-up despite his dreadful campaign.
As quoted by the Irish Examiner, Kenny said: “Nobody is an automatic starter and there isn’t really anyone in the squad who is. I have no problem leaving anyone out but what I will say about Shane Duffy is we know he has had a tough year at Celtic.
“He has never let Ireland down, he has played when he was injured, played three games in six days. We shouldn’t forget that just because he is having a tough time.
“He is capable of coming back, he is in the frame for Celtic at the weekend, he may not be selected, but he is in ours.”
Ireland decision down to Kenny; but Shane Duffy should be nowhere near Celtic vs Rangers
Kenny appears to have a level of faith in Duffy that would be surprising to many fans. Especially with the Ireland boss so often trying to play with a high line when he can.
Since signing for Celtic, Duffy has played every minute possible for his country. In fact, better yet, he’s worn the captain’s armband for the vast majority of them. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that the ROI are winless in nine matches then.
Shane has had an utterly disastrous campaign, and it’s at the stage now where many have simply given up on him. That even the prospect of starting him against Rangers on Sunday is a poisonous move.
In truth, these fixtures may provide Duffy with a spring in his step. A chance to put his Celtic nightmare on the backburner for now and get some frustration out of his system. But the October and November breaks didn’t prove to give him that relief. He still came back to Glasgow and produced mistake after mistake.
John Kennedy, Celtic’s interim boss, will only have eyes on the starting XI that can defeat Rangers. For so many obvious reasons, it has to be Stephen Welsh who features alongside Kris Ajer.
We all hope Shane can find some form when he kickstarts his World Cup qualifying campaign. But in the long-run, it likely means nothing for his Celtic career.
In other news, the Celtic supporters were left with major concerns after yesterday’s agreement.
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