John Kennedy has shared how the Celtic dressing room is really feeling ahead of the big Ibrox Glasgow Derby game against Rangers next week.

Yesterday’s win over Livingston has placed Celtic back on top of the Scottish Premiership, albeit Rangers have a game in hand, but if Brendan Rodgers‘ side takes three points away from Ibrox then Celtic will be firmly in the driving seat ahead of the top six split.

With the full focus now on next Sunday, Celtic Assistant Manager, John Kennedy, has shared just how his players are feeling ahead of the trip to Rangers and how the team plans to prepare for the top-of-the-table clash.

Rangers have a tricky away trip at Dundee on the 10th of April and should they fail to win that then the title race will have taken another big twist if Celtic can pull off an Ibrox win as well.

Celtic the ‘calmest place’ in Scotland

The Hoops’ second in command has admitted that whilst his players remain focused on training, there is not a hint of nerves amongst the Celtic players yet.

Kennedy said [Scottish Football Podcast], “To be honest, and I’m not just saying this, but it’s probably the calmest place in Scotland inside our training ground.

“We know it’s about the sessions we do and the preparation we put in.

“And the reality is that we just have to take each day as it comes and make sure we prepare properly.

“We know when we are fully prepared and we are at like we have been the last little while then we know we are in good spirits and go and attack the game as we always do.

“But the reality is if you caught up in it too early in the week you allow the emotion to set in too early it’s also draining.

“So for us, it’s about keeping calm, just can control what we can control which is the training and when next weekend comes we will deal with that.”

Celtic have a number of their top players returning from injury. Yesterday saw Reo Hatate return for the first time since December since he was injured on international duty with Japan.

We also saw Cameron Carter-Vickers get a start as he builds up his fitness ahead of the Ibrox game and Matt O’Riley and Kyogo Furuhashi were also looking sharp in the 3-0 win over Livingston.

Yesterday’s victory sets the team up well for Sunday and hopefully, the confidence remains high amongst the players as Brendan Rodgers looks to pick up his second Ibrox win of the season.

At the ideal moment, Celtic unleashed Reo Hatate, and Brendan Rodgers unveiled his fast-track strategy for Rangers.

John Kennedy hailed rampaging Reo Hatate after his stunning return helped Celtic surge back to the top of the table.

The Parkhead assistant boss poured praise onto the Japanese ace who fired straight onto top form in spectacular style at Livingston. Hatate had a huge hand in the opening goal of the 3-0 success and displayed all his usual diligence and class despite starting a first game since last October.

The 26-year-old was smooth in his work at the Tony Macaroni Arena and Kennedy outlined the importance of the Asian’s impressive return. The assistant boss said: “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 really 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.”

Hatate is a difference-maker for the champions as Kennedy continued: “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 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 a 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. Even when he came off, Paulo [Bernardo] came on, gave us a bit of buzz and got his goal.”

Bernardo was netting his fourth goal of the season with his effort and Matt O’Riley made it a dozen for his campaign with a third. The Danish international was also in excellent form in West Lothian with Tomoki Iwata also playing his part in the success in the absence of skipper Callum McGregor.

Kennedy continued: “He’s been crucial for us this year, especially when Callum comes out, the dynamic changes slightly. Even Tomoki, 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.”

Celtic were highly impressive against the league’s bottom team as they took control from the opening stages of the game. Rodgers’ squad looked in good form heading for the run-in and ahead of Sunday’s massive encounter against Rangers at Ibrox.

As well as having Hatate back in the fold for the win at Livi, skipper McGregor is also on course to make the top-of-the-table showdown. Rodgers’ squad has been beset by injury issues this term with a horst of key figures missing large periods of the campaign.

Stars such as Cameron Carter-Vickers have also been sidelined for spells, but the American also seems in rude health going into the final seven games of the Premiership race. Kennedy, who took on the main technical area duties with Rodgers serving a suspension and sitting in the stand at the Tony Macaroni Arena, admits it has not been simple to cope with the missing stars, but things are coming together now on the fitness front.

He said: “The squad is taking shape. Cam [Carter-Vickers] 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. 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 source, which was what Kyogo [Furuhashi], Daizen {Maeda] and Nick [Kuhn] 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 really 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 from in the first half as well. As a performance as a whole, it was really pleasing.”

Hugh Keevins: “It’s been a crazy Celtic season filled with unexpected events, but that’s just part of theme park life.”

What the SFA have done by handing Brendan Rodgers a suspended sentence for calling match officials “incompetent” is complete the construction of a theme park for conspiracy theorists.

The work was started by their co-architects, the SPFL, when they rearranged Rangers’ postponed game against Dundee for the Wednesday after the Old Firm derby next weekend. Celtic fans claimed that decision was based on bias and intended to keep Rangers’ players fresh for the Ibrox showdown.

Rangers fans now believe Celtic’s manager was shown leniency at his disciplinary hearing to ensure he’d be in the dugout opposite Philippe Clement for next weekend’s vital derby. The SFA went for compromise with Rodgers. Old Firm fans only understand conflict. Such as the row caused by appointing referee Don Robertson to take charge of Celtic’s game at Livingston this afternoon, three days after Rodgers was tried for suggesting the official was incompetent when Celtic lost at Tynecastle on March 3.

Some might say that’s pure coincidence. Most of the Celtic support will call it provocative. Now the only way the situation can be made even worse would be to appoint John Beaton to referee next Sunday’s game between the clubs. They couldn’t, could they? A toxic tone has been set for the remainder of a season in which the two main prizes, the league title and the Scottish Cup, will be decided by games between Celtic and Rangers.

It is an atmosphere that is unhealthy and unattractive but unavoidable at the same time. The SFA and the SPFL have pandered to the paranoid by their decision-making because Old Firm fans look at life with a suspicious mind and the resolute intention of trusting no one. At least it has brought them back to life. Celtic and Rangers supporters regard the interruption of the league season for international matches as a source of extreme irritation.

I know this from personal experience, having listened to so many radio callers express their disbelief that the title race could be halted for something as trivial and meaningless as games involving Scotland. So the SFA and the SPFL have resumed normal service by giving everyone an excuse to complain about everything and everybody.

Rodgers has, though, more to focus on at the ground with no name now that Tony Macaroni have ended their sponsorship deal with Livingston. Livi might be best described as a periodic pest to Celtic on the back of six drawn games between them, along with two defeats for the champions, in their Premiership history. Their manager David Martindale is, I’m told, in advanced discussions over turning his life-less-ordinary into a book.

It’s not as if he’s short on material, after all. But what kind of blockbuster might he be capable of providing today? Livi are, as I’ve told Martindale to his face, going down to the Championship and face an uncertain future because of external difficulties at the club that are outwith his control.

They could still inflict potentially fatal damage to Celtic’s title hopes if they put up a belligerent front today. And Celtic’s season has been characterised by the arrival of things they didn’t see coming, like points dropped at unusual times in unexpected places. They say opposites attract but do they distract as well? It’s a synthetic surface and not grass they’ll be playing on today. The ground will be full of Celtic supporters but there will be none at Ibrox next Sunday due to an ongoing case of mutual loathing.

And Rodgers’ team will be playing a team at the bottom, and not the top, of the league table. The only constants will be a lunch-time kick-off, live television coverage and the away fans’ inherent distrust of the match officials.

It never goes away. When Rodgers had his first ever league match in charge of Celtic, against Hearts at Tynecastle on August 7 2016, the referee awarded a highly controversial penalty to the home team. His name was John Beaton. Eight years later, the sour relationship between the referee and Celtic’s manager is still a headline-maker.

Such is life in the theme park.

Reo Hatate returns but probably as a substitute at Livingston

Reo Hatate is now fit and raring to go after many months on the sidelines. The Japanese playmaker has worked hard in training these past few weeks and is now back in the first team squad. That is welcome news with a trip to Ibrox looming next weekend.

Before that we have another difficult hurdle to overcome in the shape of Livingston tomorrow afternoon, but that’s a game that Reo might not be quite ready to start at this particular moment. Yes we could do with his creativity against a side who will look to suffocate us from the start. There is anti-football and then there’s David Martindale tactics and in the land of the Livingston giants we know what to expect in terms of a physical approach to the game from the relegation bound home side.

Reo would be target for the Livingston hard men from the start. They know he’s just back from injury and Martindale will instruct his players to test Reo’s frailty on their artificial surface, you can bet your life on that especially with us playing wee David’s favourite other team next Sunday.

The most sensible option would be to leave Reo on the bench and maybe bring him on if needed. We need him for next week more.

So that’s the three big calls for Brendan tomorrow. Callum McGregor sitting beside the gaffer in the stand, Reo Hatate on the bench and Cameron Carter-Vickers wearing the armband and on from the start. Will be interesting to see if Brendan thinks the same way.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

“We are a family,” says Hart, listing the four actions necessary for the group to completely gel.

Everything Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart said to the media, ahead of his side’s trip to Livingston on Sunday afternoon…

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Two weeks off following the international break, how’s it been?

Yeah, it’s been good and used well. People got some good international minutes and some stayed back and got some good training in. We’re all ready to go, especially the guys who haven’t had internationals as a distraction. We’re looking forward to Sunday.

What are the aims for the three games before the split, what’s the message? 

We’ve got to take it on like we have done all year. Keep everyone in as good a condition as we possibly can, and have as strong a squad to pick from. We’ll look to attack every game.

How’s the mood and atmosphere in the dressing room? How confident are the boys going into this final home run? 

We’re in a good place. There’s always that kind of fresh feeling after an international break. You spend an awful amount of time with each other so it’s nice to have some time apart. There were a few stories to share and moments with good people and getting a few people back fit which means we’re in a good spot.

About the manager, he’s been suspended for one game. As an experienced pro, how much of a difference does it make when the manager is or isn’t on the touchline?

It’s the same with the players, you want your best players available, whether that’s your leader or the manager. Sometimes you have situations like this. We are more than capable and he’s had more than long enough to put his message across with what he needs and wants from us. They’re an incredible coaching staff that has been there for a long while now and that we all feel comfortable with. There’s no doubt we want Brendan (Rodgers) with us in the dugout, but the rules say that he’s not there. He’s going to do everything he possibly can to help us, and that’s no different.

Surely it’s a big boost that he will be available for that Rangers game, there was fear it was going to be a two-match ban. 

Yeah, not for me to comment on speculation, and Rangers will take care of itself in however many days time. The most important game is Livingston. We won’t have Brendan in the dugout with us but John (Kennedy) will step in. He’s been personally with me my whole journey here, and he’s definitely got managerial skills from learning from great managers such as Brendan in the past and working with Ange Postecoglou. We look forward to seeing what he’s got.

You’ve mentioned getting a few players back. Does that give you a good feeling in the dressing room seeing these players?

Yeah, it’s a great feeling. There is no doubt we are at our best when we have everybody available and the manager has decisions to make on who he picks. In every single position, we are strong when people are fit and we are getting towards that point. That is an exciting place to be with such a potentially exciting end to the season.

You mentioned you spend so much time together that you need some time apart. Do these spells apart refresh you mentally?

Yes, of course. That’s life. We are a family. We are a team. We are a group of people who are working together, squabbling, fighting and looking to do what’s best for each other and what’s best for the team. For that relationship to flourish you need to have time apart sometimes – a refresh. Some people are in a good place and they need to calm down. Some people need to go and get minutes elsewhere. Some people just need some time away and it works. Football is really good like that and these international breaks for everyone at different stages in their career really do help.

Was this one especially crucial as we enter what everybody calls the business end of the season?

It is what is. The March window has always been there. Only COVID disrupted that. Whether it’s, good, bad or indifferent it is what it is.  I think we have used it from all aspects as a positive.

You’ve been involved in title races and the latter stage of cup competitions. How do you deal with the pressure of that? Is there a different feeling going into every game when you get to this stage?

I think you just concentrate on what you can take care of and right now it has been training sessions and on Sunday we have a very important game and we are all looking forward to being involved in it. We have one more training session in which we are going to prepare and we’ve got all the bodies back through the door and we managed to train together practically as a full squad. We have got another chance to discuss Livingston and what we are going to implement in the game. On Sunday we have all that to focus on.

Stephen Welsh Explains How Joe Hart Preserves Unwavering Celtic Traditions

In a poignant moment for both players and fans, Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart announced at the end of last month that he would be retiring from football come the end of the season.

Centre-half Stephen Welsh admitted how the Hoops’ dressing room was understandably gutted when such news surfaced.

Hart will be a significant loss for the Celts next season. Whoever takes the gloves from the veteran must be an elite ‘keeper, but it will be difficult to replace the veteran’s off-the-pitch values.

Given his experience in the game and what he has achieved throughout his lengthy and prestigious career, Hart’s experience and leadership are invaluable to Brendan Rodgers’ dressing room.

The gaffer has an arduous job on his hands replacing the former Man City stopper, and Welsh has revealed how Hart helps uphold the impeccable standards at the club. “He can get after us as well”, he told RecordSport.

“If we’re slacking off a wee bit, he’s the first person to get us up for it and he’s the first person to praise you for something, too. He’s been great for us.”

The 36-year-old’s spell in Glasgow has been decked in silverware. Hart won five trophies – including a treble – in his first two years with Celtic.

Going into the current campaign’s climax, the ex-England number one will want to go out on a high and end his playing career in the right manner.

Celtic injury latest after international break as key players close in on returns

1. Out: Maik Nawrocki

The defender remains out after suffering another injury setback. Nawrocki is currently “receiving intensive treatment” on a hamstring injury with a return date yet to be specified

2. Out: Luis Palma

Palma did not leave on international duty and is expected to be out for one month after struggling with “muscle discomfort in his right leg”

3. Doubt: Callum McGregor

As he recovers from an Achilles injury, Rodgers said the club “have to assess that and see where he is at over the next 24 hours”

 

4. Doubt: Liam Scales

Like Hatate, reports claim the club are hoping to see Scales back in time to face Livingston after recently picking up a knock

5. Doubt: Reo Hatate

Hatate is back in training and has been “progressing well” according to Rodgers. Celtic are hoping that if all goes to plan, he will be able to feature on Sunday. But of course, nothing is set in stone until match-day

‘I’ve been told’: Mark Guidi shares a summer transfer update that will excite the Celtic fans

Celtic’s work in the transfer market has really frustrated the supporters over the past two seasons.

Don’t get me wrong, there have been huge success stories with the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Matt O’Riley, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate.

But for every one of those players, Celtic always seem to find an Oliver Abildgaard, Nat Phillips, Yosuke Ideguchi and Hyeokkyu Kwon.

And that’s because of the market Celtic shop in and their player trading model. Not spending over £3m for a player is great in some aspects and can pay off.

But as we have seen not just this season but also under Ange Postecoglou, the quality isn’t the same as spending £6m on a Cameron Carter-Vickers or Jota.

But all that is set to change this summer after what journalist, Mark Guidi, has been told.

Celtic set to spend this summer

Speaking last night on Go Radio, Guidi was commenting on Brendan Rodgers needing to replace Joe Hart in the summer and whilst he said there is still value at the lower end of the transfer market scale, the journalist said he’s heard that Celtic are about to move into the £6m-£7m player market this summer.

Guidi said [The Go Radio Football Show], “I’ve said many times. I said it last season, if Celtic can find a Jack Butland scenario or another Joe Hart scenario where it’s a free transfer or a £1m quid transfer fee and then a nice fat contract, then go for it.

“But see if you need to spend £6m-£7m then go and do it. And I’ve been told that Celtic are back in that market.

“The days of this £3m almost like a ceiling, has been wiped out. If players become available at £6m-£7m then Celtic are very much back in the market at that level.

“And that’s the way it should be, particularly for a goalkeeper.”

If this is accurate then the Celtic fans will be delighted. For too long we have watched project players come to the club and, more often than not, fail or get embarrassed in the Champions League.

To breed success, proper investment is required in the first team and it seems that the quality Rodgers has been craving all season long, could be about to be added in the summer. Let’s face it, Celtic have the money to do it.

Let’s hope it’s not to the detriment of this season as poor recruitment has already cost us the League Cup. It would be embarrassing if it cost us the league and Scottish Cup and Celtic are trophyless at the end of this campaign.

‘Difference-maker’: Gerry Creaney says Celtic have an ‘impressive’ player Rangers will be wary of at Ibrox

As the season draws to its exciting climax, the Celtic supporters will be looking forward to the return of the domestic after this international break.

Brendan Rodgers seems to have his team firing in almost all departments at this crucial stage of the title run-in with many of his Celtic players looking like they are getting back to their best after a season where some of our top guns looked really off the pace.

And it’s that return to form that Gerry Creaney believes that Rangers will be very wary of Celtic’s trip to Ibrox next month.

Creaney says Rangers will be ‘looking out’ for Kyogo

No one can deny that Kyogo has struggled to find that sparkling form that crowned him Celtic’s Player of the Season last year but now, Creaney believes that the Japan international could be the ‘difference-maker’ for the fight for the Scottish Premiership.

Creaney said [The Sunday Post print edition page 68], “He could be the difference-maker, but it might not just be through goals. He’s so impressive to watch.

“That turn of speed, that sharpness aligned to what he’s trying to achieve – score goals.

“He’s diminutive but strong. I believe he’s still got players around him with the ability to slip balls through that he’s quick and sharp enough to get on.

“You see different facets and traits coming out of people when they’re under a bit more pressure.

“That’s something, I’m sure, Celtic players will be more than able to stand up to.

“And with Kyogo, there’s no doubt Rangers will be looking out for him as the danger man.”

Kyogo has terrorised Rangers

The Celtic striker took a bit of time to find his groove against our Glasgow rivals but over the past two seasons, Kyogo has absolutely terrorised Rangers.

In eleven appearances against the Ibrox club, the 29-year-old has won six, drawn two and lost three whilst contributing seven goals. [Transfermarkt]

In his first season, Kyogo missed two derbies due to a hamstring injury but it was in the treble-winning season 2022/23 that the Celtic striker put the Ibrox club to the sword.

In the 2-2 New Year derby Kyogo scored a vital late equaliser to fortify Celtic’s position at the top of the league.

In the following clash at Celtic Park, the Bhoys ran out 3-2 victors with a Kyogo double proving crucial in a win that virtually wrapped up the title.

The Japanese also put Rangers to the sword in the League Cup final with another double as Ange Postecoglou successfully defended the first trophy he won as the Celtic manager.

And this season, Kyogo scored the winner in the 1-0 Ibrox win and the 2-1 victory at Celtic Park.

I would say Rangers are going to be a little bit more than wary of Kyogo. I believe they will be fearing him the closer the April derby comes.

Brian Dempsey to speak out on Fergus McCann’s Celtic takeover

Brian Dempsey has joined the cast list at The Celtic Exchange to share his views on the 30th anniversary of Fergus McCann’s takeover of Celtic.

Then in his forties, the Glasgow based property developer had been appointed to the Celtic board in 1990 but when it came to the AGM to ratify his appointment Michael Kelly and Chris White ensured that his place wasn’t confirmed.

As Celtic’s fortunes nose-dived on the park with debt creeping dangerously high others started to look at ways to replace the Kelly and White dynasty that had been in control of Celtic since the early days of the century.

The charismatic Dempsey formed an alliance with McCann, most of the media commentary came from Dempsey who stood on the steps of Celtic Park to declare that the rebels had won.

The alliance between the two men never survived very long, both have different versions of events with Dempsey fairly critical of some of the decisions taken by McCann as he forged a new business model with 51% of the club shares.

During international week the content from The Celtic Exchange has been priceless. A traditional documentary would only have skimmed the surface but with six, so far, hour long interviews most of the main characters have been able to share their stories, recollections and reflections leaving the viewer with a fuller picture of the most turbulent times in Celtic’s history.