Pat Bonner has launched a furious defence of Johnny Kenny after Celtic’s defeat to Rangers.
The former Celtic goalkeeper was on punditry duty for the BBC as he explained how the lack of goals being scored by his old club is not Kenny’s fault.
Kenny struggled once again in front of goal in Celtic’s defeat to Rangers despite the Bhoys carving open a hatful of chances against the Ibrox club.
Watch Johnny Kenny’s interview andtell us if you think the Celtic dressing room is behind Nancy in the comments below.
'I don't think any player in there has turned their back on the manager.'
The Republic of Ireland striker has not scored at all under Nancy’s reign at Celtic despite scoring four times for Martin O’Neill.
And Bonner has said that not all the blame can be laid at the Celtic striker’s door.
Pat Bonner says Celtic’s problems are not ‘Johnny Kenny’s fault’
Kenny had five shots on goal with two on target in the Celtic defeat to Rangers but Bonner refuses to blame the Hoops striker for his lack of strikes.
Bonner told BBC Radio Scotland, “We talk about young Johnny Kenny, and I’ve got to stand up for him, not because he’s Irish, or because anything of that nature, he is a young man trying to find his way.
“And I thought he was actually very, very good, some of his runs were excellent, excellent.
“When Celtic went off the ball in midfield, lost possession, didn’t start winning the first ball in midfield, and they were under pressure, it wasn’t Johnny Kenny’s fault.”
Kenny had a very good first half as he troubled the Rangers defence but to call him ‘very good’ is a bit of a stretch.
Especially as he went missing in the second half.
Pat Bonner’s defence of Kenny dismantles Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic tactics
And Bonner knows exactly who is to blame for Kenny’s poor goalscoring form and he explained his reasoning, he totally dismantled Nancy’s tactics against Rangers.
The Celtic hero continued, “He puts on Yamada, how many touches did Yamada get on the ball in that second half? But he then played Maeda through the middle, where Maeda is not happy playing through there, you could see his body language deteriorating.
“And from that perspective, he moved Yang then over onto the left-hand side to put the new player, Arauja, over on the right-hand side.
“So many changes in that second half trying to find the formula. So it’s down to that structure and the players and again, we go back to that sort of lack of confidence, but confusion, all of those type of things.”
Celtic’s attacking threat is not under debate. At times the team have looked very dangerous going forward over the last few weeks.
However, what is undeniable is that the number of chances not being converted is on Nancy and his strikers and that, unfortunately, puts Kenny under the microscope despite Bonner’s passionate defence of the Hoops striker.
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