Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has praised John Kennedy and explained his role in training.
The first-team squad are currently in Portugal, being put through their paces as they prepare for the new season.
It’s still very early on in Rodgers‘ second spell at the club, but the early signs are positive with standards already high.
Rodgers has explained the role his coaches play in training, but detailed how he will also get involved, in contrast to his predecessor at Celtic.
“I have a vision that isn’t too dissimilar to the method and stylistically how the team has played,” he said in a Celtic TV interview. “There will be adaptations to that.
“I’m very much a hands-on coach. John [Kennedy], Gavin [Strachan] and Harry [Kewell], and Woodsy [Stevie Woods] with the goalkeepers, absolutely brilliant.
“They implement the vision and how I want to work. They do amazing work. Then you’ll see, from time to time, I go in and impose that way of working as well, tidy up some of the details.”
“That was a big part of coming back,” he continued when asked about working with Kennedy and Woods again. “They understand my methods and how I work — the standard I like to set.
“In particular, John really compliments my style of teaching. It’s felt really good to come back.”
The quotes from Rodgers are pretty enlightening and give a good indication of how things will run at Lennoxtown.
The coaching team will be trusted to lead training and “implement the vision” as Rodgers says. But the Celtic boss will have far more of an involved role than his predecessor Ange Postecoglou.
The former Hoops manager would famously keep his distance during training drills, letting his coaches run sessions while always viewing from afar.
Rodgers will have a far more hands-on approach and that should be a nice change for the players.
The relationship will be different but the respect will be the same. We can’t wait to see what they’ve been working on in training bearing fruit on match days.
In other news, recently departed Celtic player Claire O’Riordan has been caught up in some strange goings-on
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