Danny Lennon knows a thing or two about new Celtic recruit Aaron Mooy. Lennon coached Mooy during his time in the Scottish Premiership with St Mirren, when he played for the Paisley side a decade or so ago. Lennon initially used Mooy as a No.10 and revealed he didn’t see him as the deep-lying sort of midfielder at the time, but he has watched from afar as he has developed and grown into the role.
The former St Mirren manager said: “What did surprise me though is that since we had him, we saw him as a No.10 but he’s managed to fit into a role a little bit further back than that,” Lennon said, as reported by Scottish Sun. “He’s right in amongst the action and my god has he got the ability to do that very very well. What I would say is that Aaron Mooy is technically more astute than someone like Scott Brown.”
High praise indeed for Celtic’s new signing. Mooy’s former boss also made a distinction between the player and the recently retired ex-Celtic captain, Scott Brown; claiming the latter didn’t have the same level of technical ability as the Bhoys’ newest recruit.
Lennon said: “Scott Brown did the simple and effective things extremely well there’s no doubt about that, but I think that Aaron has a little bit more in him than that. In terms of getting things started and in terms of the fact he can probably play a bit further forward as well. You never know how things are going to pan out but he’s had over 50-caps for his country and played against the best players in the world and he’s not looked out of place.
“I’ve no doubt in my mind that he’ll be a breath of fresh air up here. He’s been away and matured and he’s matched that with the talent, so much so that Manchester City have taken him in, Huddersfield and even Brighton. I think that when you go to a club like that, you’re better equipped to look after players not only on the park but off of it as well, they’ve got more finances than anyone in the world.
“There will have been many many kids in Aaron’s position at the club so he probably won’t have felt as if he was the odd one out and as a result his career has just kicked off.”
By his own admission, the former Buddies boss highlighted the fact that he feels the club could have done more to help the Australian settle, claiming they didn’t get his very best as a result. He continued: “The club did have things in place like apartments and all that type of stuff but I think we could’ve done more so that the transition of moving up a little bit smoother.
“What’s it like coming home from training every night to an apartment and it’s just you, you don’t know. It was something that we as a club could’ve done better at – if we did then who knows what could’ve happened. I certainly loved him as a player and I’m not surprised at where he is now, he’s got the ability to go and do that and he always has – he’s gone and found that balance where he could really go and kick on. It’s funny to be talking about Aaron now.
“He’s 31 and has gone and had this truly brilliant career that’s taken him to all four corners of the world. I am just really proud of him but he’s not here just to make up the numbers, he’ll be here to contribute and show that he’s still got his best years ahead of him.”
Paul Gillespie
