Scott Bain speaking after Celtic’s 1-0 over Aberdeen looked back at the events of the past few weeks which has seen Neil Lennon lose his job, John Kennedy given the Interim job until the end of the season and Bain himself continue to be given the gloves ahead of Barkas, the £5m summer signing from AEK Athens out of the team.
First topic discussed in his post match media briefing was the change of manager at Celtic as Bain admits that he is impressed by John Kennedy but was surprised that Neil Lennon wasn’t given until the end of this season, as the players seemed to have expected.
“I think I’ve been impressed with the new gaffer since I’ve been here. I think he’s a class act and one of the hardest working at the club. He’s always first in and last to leave,” the Celtic keeper stated, as reported by Scottish Sun. “The whole time, he’s left no stone unturned in terms of how to get us prepared for a game. We’re in very safe, capable hands and I think as the weeks go you’ll see even more from us.”
So that’s a real vote of confidence from Kennedy, who is widely respected among the playing squad at the club. On Neil Lennon resigning shortly after the recent 1-0 defeat up at Dingwall Bain reckons that it was something of a surprise but admitted that football is results based so probably he wasn’t really as surprised as he’s making out.
“It probably came as a surprise,” he said. “The camp thought that the old gaffer was probably going to be here until the end of the season. So, in that regard it was a surprise,” Bain admitted.
“But obviously we know that football’s results based. Although we were on a good run, it was a disappointing result last week. We just need to try and move on from there. I think it can be a distraction. I think it had go to a stage where we weren’t really thinking about it. We went out and tried to do the best we could for him.”
The win over Aberdeen saw the beginning of the changes Kennedy intends to bring in his 8 game audition for the Celtic job and if the players genuinely want him to be a serious contender for the job then they will have to produce on the park and deliver another 7 wins after beating Aberdeen. And even for those players not wanting to stay around beyond the end of this season they have their own Wantaway shop-window to impress in to get the move that they reckon they merit.
“It was good to get the victory in the bag after a lot of the emotions during the week,” Bain observed.”A lot of energy wasted through the whole situation of the week. So it was good to get the win and a good performance as well.
“I think we tried to play a little bit differently than normal. We played a lot more out from the back and we wanted to try and show how good a team we are and how comfortable we are on the ball.
“There are obviously things we need to work on. It’s been a long time since we’ve played like that. It’s just a case of getting more comfortable as the games come.”
On his own elevation to the starting keeper when he’d clearly been told he was the back-up, Bain is happy to do his best and try to make the most of the chance he has been given to establish himself in the side.
“Any chance I get to play for the club, I always try to do my best,” he said. “Whatever my role at the club is, I look to perform and it’s always nice to make saves. The way the new gaffer wants us to play, we’re more than capable of playing it.
“It’s also one of my strengths playing it from the back and finding the right pass. Mind you, I was a little bit rusty in that area today,” he said, with a clear reference to the change in football style that has not served Celtic well this season. “But I think it’s going to come and will click as the games come. Whatever my role at the club, I always try to do it to the very best of my ability.
“To be honest, the last few weeks all I’ve tried to do is make sure I’ve played well and done the basics well in the game. Hopefully that stands me well to play in the next game.
“Obviously, it was very uncertain for a number of weeks there. It doesn’t breed a lot of confidence in the goalkeeping area. I just try to take each game as it comes and build the confidence as I go along. I can only hope that if it’s a good performance and a result then I stay in for the next week.”
Bain made a decent save at the weekend, notable in that it was probably the first one a Celtic keeper has managed to make this season. That in itself is remarkable, frustrating and nowhere near good enough.
