Scott McKenna fails to impress against Celtic yet again

By David Walton

May 5, 2019

£10million rated Scott McKenna had yet another chance to show what he can do against Celtic yesterday at Pittodrie.

And, in unsurprising fashion, the Dons centre-back failed to impress yet again against the Hoops.

Aberdeen have a good defender there first and foremost. He can win his aerial duels the majority of the time, and he does the basics well for the most part. He’s been terrific for Derek McInnes, and is probably still their best centre-back too.

Scott McKenna had yet another chance to impress Celtic yesterday (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

But, yet again, just like in the Betfred Cup final and the Scottish Cup semi-final, McKenna proved he just doesn’t have the goods to play for Celtic at this stage.

There were a couple of occasions in the first half where he looked sloppy on the ball. Aberdeen are a far more direct team than Celtic, with the Hoops preferring to be patient as they move the ball around using their defence often.

McKenna’s footwork certainly didn’t impress overall. There were some clumsy touches, and he didn’t look like he was comfortable passing it around the backline frequently.

McKenna’s footwork still isn’t the greatest (David Young/Action Plus via Getty Images)

The Dons defender also didn’t cover himself in glory for Celtic’s second goal. When Callum McGregor swung in his tempting delivery, Jozo Simunovic absolutely bullied McKenna in the air to power home a header for 2-0. It wasn’t even close either, the Pittodrie man was dominated by Jozo.

He hasn’t stood out yet again

There weren’t any glaringly bad errors outside of that. But the fact is that McKenna has once again failed to stand out against Celtic this season.

With Aberdeen reportedly demanding around £10million for him, they must be having an absolute laugh. Celtic surely won’t be going splashing the cash on him for that price.

McKenna isn’t as dominant as some think (Alan Rennie/Action Plus via Getty Images)

At the end of the day, the partnership of Simunovic and Kristoffer Ajer couldn’t be broken by McKenna. Any defensive recruits that Celtic bring in this summer simply have to be of a better quality than what we already have.

Watching McKenna against the likes of Celtic and Rangers this season, he’s never been any better than others on the pitch.

Sure, he may have went on that darting 50 or 60 yard run yesterday that created Aberdeen’s best chance of the game. But as a defender, he isn’t dominant enough or good enough on the ball for Celtic to stay interested in him.

Let’s see what the summer brings, but surely it won’t bring McKenna.