John Kennedy

Has gone through a * of a lot and appreciates every day he has at Celtic. Anyone who thinks his position isn’t justified at Celtic are horrendously ignorant of the man, his mentality and his desire to do everything he can to improve Celtic We’re lucky to have a coach like him never mind talking * about him not being justified to be at Celtic. Some people talk the biggest pile of * imaginable.

 

If you go back and read over the thread some amount * posted.


When the time comes he’ll be an outstanding manager

 

Some people are just totally ignorant. Although I’m not sure if I agree with you that he will become an outstanding manager, but as a coach he is top class. Anyone who has worked with him holds him in very high regard, but according to a section of the online crackpot brigade he shouldn’t be anywhere near Celtic. Might as well just say it…these people are just down right thick.

 

I wonder if after the taste of it as our caretaker, if he has ambitions to be a manager or would rather be the best coach he can possibly be. Two very different jobs a manager and coach, Honestly when I think about it I’d really like being a coach but don’t think I’d want to be a manager.

Or if in this hypothetical fantasy I went into management I’d need to do what Eddie Howe does rather than an Ange, a carefully crafted team around me that I know makes up for my deficiencies and would take me aside for a verbal slap (or a real one depending on how power mad I’ve got) to make me even have a chance of being a success. Coaching though? Fits my personality and the way I can teach people, with the chance of focusing one to one and in minute details. Managers don’t have that chance a lot unless you’re someone like Pep,JK’s extended run as manager with the board hanging him out to dry and our fans being utter ruthless dickheads, might just make him think he loves coaching instead.


I fully believe though, he’ll want to coach here up until he can’t and is out the door, and then he might look at options. As long as management, players and his peers respect him and appreciate him like they do, he’ll be here. There’s always a sense from him that he feels he will always owe us from how his career went and how we nurtured his belief in himself to get back up stay in the game and make a difference in a different way he was robbed of getting on the pitch.

For me, he’s long paid that ‘debt’ off. He’s been a major part of so much success, even if us as a fanbase like to ignore that part to blame him for the few failures he’s been here for.


And btw, that’s Ronny Deila’s fault, in his inexperience and stress really, he threw him under the * bus in an interview blaming him for all defensive issues and set piece issues, before quickly saying but i’m the manager so ultimately me. And our fans ran with that, even when Kolo Toure was sitting on the bench as a pure specialist defensive coach, a guy hard to mix up with Kennedy that, JK got the blame for defensive frailties. Kolo got the credit when we turned into a solid unit for a while until the occasional Boyata, Boyating things up.

For a while he was getting labelled as Lawwell’s good mate, only reason he’s here, like him and Lawwell go for a couple pints with each other

 

“John Kennedy who leads the coaching does a very good job of ensuring that what the players do on the pitch, they are very much together.

"No-one is left isolated even though it's huge numbers. The players deserve huge credit because they are very professional, they come in to work.


They know it can change very quickly in football. You might be outside of it but you have to be ready to take your chance.

"Liam's the perfect example of that. He was on the outside, not even travelling with some of the squads, then he gets the chance to play and because of that mentality and professional approach, he steps in and he's ready.

"He gains confidence and now he's playing at a really high level."

Similar story in praise for JK regardless of the manager in charge again, he’s been a stalwart and constant presence for us for our success as a club since he’s been in the background.

Like when it’s pointed out, because it largely gets ignored and then he’ll get targeted when there’s something that someone needs blamed for

 

Think we need a new JK thread as this one has been proven to be a riddy.

 

Should be left up as an example against hysteria

 

Hysteria on TC? Dunno what you're on about.

 

The fact that both Rodgers and Ange wanted to take him with them to top-half EPL clubs speaks volumes. For his sake, though, I want him to go take a manager's job somewhere.

 

Scored the winner in the Copa Libertadores

 

I just saw the interview with him about that tackle and looked up Ganea to see what happened to him. It's unbelievable what a thug this guy was, his Wikipedia article is shocking. I think it's actually possible he did that on purpose.

It's not often I think things like this, but I hope Kennedy meets this c*** in a bar some day and does whatever he personally feels is proportionate.

 

Is this guy getting a free pass here, what does this * do ?

 

Everything that Celtic assistant John Kennedy said after their 3-0 away win against Livingston...

How delighted were you with that performance?

It was very good. As everyone knows, coming here especially on a day like today when the sun is out and drying the pitch up, can be difficult. But the boys were very good, very professional. We didn’t give Livingston very much at all in terms of territory or getting into our box which is always important here. And in our attacking play, we stuck at it. In the first half, we could have scored - we got into some great areas and maybe the final ball wasn’t there or things got blocked. But we showed that calmness, which is important at this time of year. It’s easy to get dragged into panic mode and think that you need to go chasing a win, but we stayed with our performance, stayed with doing the same things. We were relentless and eventually, it breaks for you. That’s what happened and we came out convincing winners.

How important was Reo Hatate today?

He was on it right from the first minute and he has been in training, which is why the gaffer thought to get him in the team quickly. He’s been terrific the last few weeks. He came back in good condition and worked hard. We had the game last week to give him some minutes and he was really good, so it was time to unleash him. I think you can see what he brings to the team, and even when he came off, Paulo came on, gave us a bit of buzz and got his goal. The squad is taking shape. Cam has another 90 minutes under his belt and with Reo back in we’ve pretty much got a full bill of health. We’re in good shape going into the run-in, but for us, it’s just about focusing on performance and maintaining that level.

How much are you looking forward to having a settled team at last?

It’s been a challenge but that’s part of football. It happens sometimes, and it’s affected our rhythm and our performances sometimes. But in the last period, we’ve been very good. We’ve given away one or two cheap goals which has kept other teams in games, but our attacking play has been really good. It’s been very good from our front players, the way we supply them and then the end product with us scoring a lot of goals. It’s just about staying on that. But even today, the defensive part of the game was very good. If you allow Livingston to get up into your half and get balls into your box, that’s when the trouble stops. But we stopped that at the source, which was what Kyogo, Daizen and Nick did at the front end. Our midfield worked in and around that then the boys at the back dealt with anything that came along. That’s a crucial part. Everyone thinks that when you come to Livingston it’s all about going and breaking them down. That’s very much part of it, but for us, it’s just as important how we defend against that, how we press to stop them giving us difficult moments. At the same time, it forces mistakes and gives us chances, which we got a couple of in the first half as well. As a performance as a whole, it was pleasing


Can Hatate be the difference maker?

I think that’s always the case with your best players. He’s shown that, in terms of big games and big performances. He’s obviously not fully up to speed but I think we can see today that he’s in pretty good condition, and it’s just the confidence he brings to the team as well. He plays with that composure. Even on a difficult pitch, you can see how he brings calmness to the game. He sees the passes which the front players thrive on and he gives us a slightly different dynamic. It’s important to have him back. It’s just about getting him through the week now, getting him that extra bit fitter going into next week.



How do you feel are shaping up for the massive game next weekend?

The injuries have hampered us but the squad are looking good, you see it in training, you sense it in training, the numbers are starting to come back up, the quality's starting to come back in, and the standard starts to rise. Outwith the Hearts game, when we went down to 10 men very early, we'd scored 17 goals in four games and we've scored another three today, so in that respect it's very pleasing. Obviously, we want to stay on top of our defensive game and not slacken off, and if we do that we get performances like that where we dominate games and give nothing away. That's always the objective, to have that level of performance.

Is it good to see that Matt O'Riley looks to have rediscovered some of his early season form?

He's been crucial for us this year, especially when Callum comes out, the dynamic changes slightly. Even Tomoki today, in terms of the physicality he gave us, the number of times he picked up second balls or broke up attacks, he was really good and that allowed Matt and Reo to get involved further forward. It's a good dynamic. We've got good options in there now so that will be crucial in the run-in.

You are back at the top of the league are you in the best fettle to take on Rangers?

Yes, I think we are, if you look at the way we're attacking and our control, especially today. Our attacking game has really clicked the last little while, especially with having the front players and even Nic coming into the equation. Initially, he had a period off, he came in kind of unfit but you can see he's now up to speed and Yang's back from suspension. We've now got options. It's not just the starting players, it's what comes in behind that. We basically changed the front three today and the second front three was still strong. We've got lots of options and everybody will contribute.

Can you look forward to this game? Is it like any other game?

It's like any other game. We just have to approach it the same as we have done and not get involved in the emotional side. Sometimes that can be a burden so for us it's about focusing on our training and making sure we're prepared for the game.

 

John Kennedy insists he has no regrets about passing up the chance to join Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur.

Postecoglou wanted to take his Celtic assistant down south when the Aussie left Parkhead for North London last summer. But a heart-to-heart with returning boss Brendan Rodgers convinced Kennedy to commit his future to the Glasgow giants. Kennedy has been part of the first-team coaching staff since 2014 and has played a major role behind the scenes during Celtic's incredible period of dominance in Scottish football.

And the 40-year-old - who was dubbed a 'world-class coach' by Damien Duff - admits he cherishes working for the club he loves

Asked if he had any second thoughts about rejecting Spurs, he told Sky Sports: "No, I've never looked at anything that way. When things are done and dusted and the decision is made then you fully commit to where you are

I've had a long time here, I've had lots of success, I've worked with terrific people. It's a great club to work for. I've never had any regrets, especially when you see the scenes at the end of the season and you see how special a club it is.

"When you come back from that Cup final to Celtic Park and the fans are there and the two trophies come out on the stage, you see the reception the players get. It's second to none

 

The countdown is on for the defence of the title as the players returned to the Lennoxtown training camp this morning (Thursday) on the day that the 2024/25 SPFL fixtures were announced.

Those Celts not on international duty over the summer gathered ahead of their first pre-season training session, and, although the campaign doesn’t begin until the start of August, the first action of the summer kicks-off as early as next week.

Next Friday sees the commencement of five pre-season games both here in Scotland and across the Atlantic in the United States against the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea, with all FIVE of the games available on Celtic TV.

And assistant manager, John Kennedy is looking ahead to the start of the season as the champions now get down to the serious business of prepping for the fight to repeat the success of last term.

He said: “I think we’re all excited. It was an amazing scene we’ve seen a few times now, but it certainly doesn’t get old when you win trophies and you go back to Celtic Park.

“There’s just that moment when everyone comes together and you can celebrate, because there were challenges as it was a tough season last year at times, but it was certainly worth it in the end when you see everyone come together.

‘And, again, going forward as always, the manager has said, we are as one, we’re as strong as anyone out there.’

“So the message from the off is we are going out to do the business again and that’s always going to be there with the support of the Celtic fans.”

Kennedy added: “It’s two things, it’s to celebrate the achievement of the previous season, which is always nice with the flag being unfurled and still remembering the work that was done last year and what we achieved.

‘But it also then draws a line under that and it’s the start of a new and exciting season, so we’re looking forward to that.’

“There’s a lot of work to be done before that comes around, but especially for the fans with the fixtures coming out today, they’ll be getting excited about the football coming back around and looking forward to seeing the players and the team back on the pitch again.”

Among that work will be the pre-season games, and the assistant manager said: “It’s a bit different for us this year, we normally go away to Austria, last year we were in Portugal and had a camp out there where we started the games, whereas this year we’re going to the States.

“We just thought this year, we’ve got a great facility here, the way the players are filtering back in, it’s probably best that we base ourselves here for a couple of weeks before we head off, so with that it then gives us the chance to play local games here in Scotland.

“It will be good for us and it’s just building blocks as we’ll get the work in with the training, but, again there comes a point when you have to start getting the match-time as it’s a different type of fitness.

“It’s a really important phase when you start getting into that match routine, the prep for the games, you execute how you want to play and then the review process starts with that as well.

“It’s important for us regardless of the opposition, we’ll get the minutes in early doors, and obviously when we go to the States we’ve got some challenging games which is again another step forward.”