Sports
“It’s hard to take,” Celtic loanee hits out at Rodgers for lack of class and’minimal contact’ with the club despite eye-catching form
Johnny Kenny, a Celtic loanee, is dissatisfied by a lack of communication from his parent club after performing brilliantly for Shamrock Rovers this season.
The 21-year-old was signed permanently by the Hoops as a youngster in January 2022, although he has yet to make an appearance for the first squad.
He is expected to return to Glasgow before the end of 2024, once Rovers complete the remaining of their Europa Conference League fixtures.
Kenny, who is on loan in his hometown this year, has impressed, scoring 12 goals and assisting three in 27 games.
Despite his great record, he has got little contact from Celtic, not even from Professional Player Pathway Manager Darren O’Dea.
“It’s a message here and there from Darren O’Dea, that’s it, that’s all it is,” he said (Irish Independent).
“It’s hard to take. Last year, [the lack of contact was] fair enough because I wasn’t really performing. But this year, I think I have performed well and I have gotten minimal contact from them.
“But look, I’ll just keep going game by game and see where it takes me.
“I’m always hopeful of getting an opportunity [at Celtic], but it might be limited. It would be a dream to play over there, but we’ll wait and see.”
When Kenny returns to Glasgow in a few weeks, he will still have over a year and a half left on his Celtic deal.
The centre-forward could still earn a chance under Brendan Rodgers, following in the footsteps of his compatriot Liam Scales.
The defender’s Hoops career appeared to be gone until injuries presented him with an opportunity. The 26-year-old has never looked back and is a mainstay in Celtic’s lineup.
Kenny regards him as a major inspiration.
“The two of used to be in the ‘Bomb Squad’, that’s what we used to call it,” revealed Kenny.
“When we didn’t make the [Celtic] squad and we used to do running on the day of the games.
“Now he’s the first name on the team-sheet, starting for Ireland and scored his international first goal against Finland.
“He’d be an inspiration. Now he’d say, ‘Look what happened to me’ and that there’ll be an opportunity for me at Celtic. When that comes, I’ll just have to take it.”
Scales didn’t receive his first real Celtic opportunity until he was 24.
There is still time for Kenny to establish himself in Glasgow’s east end and impress Rodgers when he returns from his latest loan.
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