John Kennedy took charge of his first derby match this afternoon, and ensured the next one should be his last.
Celtic had Rangers right where they wanted them. 1-0 ahead and cruising. Had it not been for dreadful decision-making and dismal defending, this should’ve been a lot more comfortable.
In the end, we allowed our rivals to slip out of Parkhead with a point. Still they remain unbeaten when they should’ve left Glasgow’s east end with a major doing.
However, there was a stage after the equaliser where Kennedy should’ve changed things. Where he had an opportunity to show what he’s all about. To show that he could bounce back from adversity and win games as Celtic manager.
Yet instead he decided to take a leaf out of Neil Lennon’s book of management. When changes needed to be made, he decided not to bother.
Celtic needed fresh legs, Kennedy waited until 79 minutes
Indeed, Kennedy decided to wait until there was only 11 minutes left to throw on his first change. That was James Forrest for David Turnbull.
The second change six minutes later. Tom Rogic was given five minutes. Leigh Griffiths and Ismaila Soro? Three minutes each. How on earth is that a fair enough amount of time for your players to ease into the game and make an impact?
Griffiths managed to get in behind the Rangers backline twice after coming on. He could’ve made a key contribution if he was given between 20 minutes and half an hour. Especially considering how tired Rangers looked in the final half-hour too.
Now, looking at things from Kennedy’s perspective, you can understand why he played it safe. Had one of his subs gone pear-shaped, he would’ve been chastised for it. He clearly felt we had enough control of the game to hopefully bag a winner. Which we did.
But where the problem comes is that he never decided to throw caution to the wind. He never decided to take that risk that could’ve given us a greater chance of turning one point into three.
Celtic have enough quality to beat Rangers. The last two derby matches have shown that in terms of the pattern of play. Kennedy, however, failed to believe that his subs could’ve made the difference late on. That’s a huge concern when it comes to his ability to adapt with his in-game management.
In other news, Martin O’Neill couldn’t believe the John Kennedy defensive tactic that cost Celtic badly.
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