Celtic Assistant Manager John Kennedy spoke to Celtic TV on Friday as he ‘opened the doors’ for another season as a number of Celtic players returned to Lennoxtown for the start of preseason training…
The club released the video yesterday with Kennedy pleased to be back and seeing the Bhoys again and also reflecting on last season which proceeded as planned up to the dramatic turn-around in the Scottish Cup Final which denied Celtic a treble.
“It’s nice to see everybody’s face again,” John Kennedy
“It’s nice to see everybody’s face again,” the Celtic assistant manager said. “It’s been a good break, we’ve had time to reset, relax, get refreshed again, and the boys have come in this morning in pretty good shape and excited for what’s ahead.”
Kennedy talked about the physical challenges associated with the game these days and went out of his way to praise the players for their performances last year.
“The guys were terrific last year,” John Kennedy
“There are challenges in terms of the physical aspect, the demand of the game. We all know nowadays it’s huge, the physical outputs. Plus, the number of games that they go through.
“The guys were terrific last year,” John Kennedy added.
💬 "Early on it’s very much about the physical aspects, returning to our game model, our intensities, making sure we get all the work in to the guys."
📰 Exclusive @CelticTV Interview: John Kennedy#SummerOfCeltic | #ReturningChampions | #CelticFC🍀
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) June 30, 2025
With the Premier Sports League Cup won last December against theRangers and a runaway title win, Kennedy could also reflect on the creditworthy Champions League campaign as the positives while recognising the disappointment at Hampden in the Scottish Cup final took some of the gloss off the campaign as it denied the club another treble.
“The way it finished kind of took the shine off it a little bit, but once the dust settles, and you reflect on how everything went, the guys were superb,” John Kennedy stated.
“They put everything into it, okay, just came up short in the final, but the way we performed in the league, the league cup earlier in the season, the Champions League stuff, we can look back on that and take a lot of positives.
‘The same hunger and desire to be successful again’
“It’s good for them to reflect on that, but get a chance to switch off, let the legs recover, let the mind recover, and come in with the same hunger and desire to be successful again because that’s what the club demands. There’s no let-up.”
Here’s John Kennedy speaking to Celtic TV as the new season gets into first gear…
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