John Kennedy is eyeing Celtic silverware success

By John McGinley

March 6, 2021

Celtic interim boss John Kennedy is delighted that the Scottish FA have organised an end to this season’s Scottish Cup tournament before the end of May.

There had been doubts about the viability of completing the tournament until into next term, with lockdown restrictions playing havoc with teams in the lower leagues.

However, the Hampden final has been pencilled in for May 22nd, with Celtic set to begin their defence of the trophy in early April.

The Bhoys have drawn Arbroath or Falkirk in the Third Round.

Asked if the competition is a welcome boost for the coaching staff and players [YouTube], Kennedy said: “It is. It’s a trophy we’ve had great success in, in recent seasons.

“We’re the current holders of it and it’s great we get the opportunity, it gives us something else to attack in the season and look forward to.

“At the end of the day, going into a Scottish Cup Final at the end of a season is always a great feeling and a great motivation.

“If there’s some form of motivation for the season now, it’s very much about performances and results. But when there’s silverware to play for, then that makes it all the better.”

Scottish Cup is a huge opportunity for Celtic and Kennedy

Winning the Scottish Cup would be a great way for Celtic to begin to purge the sins of this season.

Whether we lift the trophy or not, no-one will say this has been a successful season, but it would provide a bit of hope for next year.

It’s also massive for Kennedy’s managerial future. Not in the sense it could bag him the Celtic job – I don’t think there’s any scenario that will make that happen this summer – but if he wins silverware during this interim reign he can land a plum appointment elsewhere.

Celtic celebrate a fourth consecutive Scottish Cup / (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

We already know Hibernian wanted him to take charge before Jack Ross was appointed. If he lifts the cup, he could walk into most other teams in Scotland, and likely a few in the English lower leagues too.

Primarily though, the players should want this to show the fans they still care about playing for the club and are better than what the evidence shows so far this season.

In other news, Christopher Jullien has shared another comeback post on Instagram.