Retired Ireland defender Gary Breen’s comments on Celtic and Scottish football quite rightly irritated many in the Parkhead support.
Breen stated that Shane Duffy’s move to Celtic was “a concern” for Ireland. Speaking to Off the Ball, the ex Sunderland man said: “The quality of player he (Duffy) is playing against will be a big concern for Ireland. He might pick up a few bad habits in Scotland.”
His comments led to Chris Sutton labeling the view as “idiotic”, and Breen certainly didn’t get sympathy from the Celtic support either.
Reacting on social media, there were plenty of Hoops fans who were keen to defend the club and Scottish football from external criticism. Here’s a look at some of that reaction below:
https://twitter.com/mickagnew/status/1305193742635339776
https://twitter.com/LewisLaird01/status/1305160328662089728
We’re used to this
It’s as if some pundits seem to enjoy this – what is it about sticking a needless boot into Scottish football that makes people feel good about themselves?
The most disrespectful aspect about Breen’s words is that he’s acting as though Duffy has decided to drop out of professional football and play for his local team. It really is as if he’s just dropped into the amateurs.
Listen, you won’t find a single Scottish football supporter who believes that the Premiership is as high in quality as the Premier League. With the likes of Sergio Aguero, Mo Salah, and Kevin de Bruyne tearing up England, it isn’t comparable to the likes of Sam Cosgrove, Kevin Nisbet, and Alfredo Morelos in Scotland.
But as so many supporters above have stated – it’s about mentality. Duffy has never been at a club where he has to win every week, and that could be a valuable mindset to be able to take into his international set-up. Especially after failing to win any of their last two matches against Bulgaria and Finland respectively.
However, we’re all used to this. We know that there are so many people out there who just love to have a pop at our game. It’s an easy target to make them feel better about their own standard of league.
Yet Duffy won’t be giving it a second’s worth of thought. He knows he made the right decision to come to Parkhead, and the pressures he’ll face this season will be levels above what he would’ve had at the likes of Brighton or West Ham United.
In other news, one of Brendan Rodgers’ old Celtic signings has opened up on his moment of glory as he became a hero with his loan club.
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