John Kennedy welcomes the early start made by the Celtic CEO in waiting Dominic McKay who went along with the official Celtic party to Ibrox on Sunday and watched on as Celtic exited the Scottish Cup, then started work at Celtic Park yesterday morning as he prepares himself to take over from Peter Lawwell on 1 July.
The Interim Celtic manager also revealed that he’s not had a chance to meet the new CEO yet but hopes to do so later this week, possibly on Friday.
Speaking at today’s Mainstream Media Conference ahead of the game at Aberdeen tomorrow evening Kennedy answered questions on the new arrival in the Celtic Boardroom and reckons that it is a good thing for the club that McKay has come in earlier than initially stated.
“Especially coming into a club like Celtic, the demand that comes on very early,” John Kennedy said. “Peter (Lawwell) is going to be stepping to the side just before pre-season and there is a lot that goes on very early at the club.
“I have been here long enough to understand the demands straight away in terms of getting the squad together, getting the team prepared and then you are going into European competition very quickly before your domestic season starts so I think it is good timing.
Dominic McKay at the game today. pic.twitter.com/KIuWqA6wav
— Highland__Paddy (@Highland__paddy) April 18, 2021
“He comes in, he gets a feel for the place, he gets an understanding of how it operates and what he might have to do and that will make the transition easier, having Peter there to help him with that, rather than coming in cold, right on top of the qualifying games.
“So it is better he is in early, it gives him time to bed in and we will see what happens from there.
Dominic McKay saunters into Celtic Park for his first day at work in a Blue Suit & Blue tie haha. No fecks given. pic.twitter.com/4E2BlWNDI5
— Scott Alcroft (@ScottAlcroft) April 19, 2021
Kennedy also accepted that this has been a disappointing season for the club but argues that the the extend of the re-build that is required should not be overstated as he talks about the ‘solid foundations’ that exist that have been the premise of the overwhelming success that the club has enjoyed over the past mumber of years.
“We have come off the back of tremendous success over a long period of time, with a real solid foundation and a good structure behind the team, to allow us to be successful,” Kennedy stated. “This season, in the middle of a pandemic, there has been a huge amount of challenges and that is certainly not an excuse, we underperformed and had a poor season by our standards.”
He does however accept that there will be significant chances at the club this summer, although he remains in the dark as to whether he will be part of the next set-up.
“There probably will be more turnover than there has been in previous seasons, that’s down to players coming out of contract and we don’t hold massive numbers like we have done in the past so we have to make replacements. There is obviously change going on behind the scenes but behind that you have to keep a solid foundation.
“It is not rip everything up and it is a shambles and you start again. You have to identify the problems, fix them and build on what we have built over a number of years and not forget about that. Before this season we had a huge amount of success,” the Interim Celtic manager pointed out.
#ABECEL training for the Celts ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/5FL10CsPSV
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) April 20, 2021
Watch below John Kennedy’s Mainstream Media Conference today ahead of tomorrow evening’s Scottish Premiership dead rubber at Pittodrie, which is available to view via Aberdeen FC TV for £12.99 (link below for those interested).
⚠️ Wednesday’s match against Celtic at Pittodrie is not on TV!
Watch it LIVE on RedTV International, your Virtual Season Ticket or via our Pay-Per-View option
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) April 19, 2021
