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John Kennedy Takes Aim At Scott Brown’s “Celebration” Critics.

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There are some people in our support who wonder exactly what John Kennedy brings to the club at the moment.

The answer is simple; whatever Neil Lennon, whatever Celtic itself, needs. Today he sat at the club’s press conference and defended everyone at Parkhead to the hilt. Not only was it a rousing and passionate defence, but it was insightful and intelligent too.

It is easy to sit in front of the media and hurl accusations and mourn about how the world is against you; Steven Gerrard did exactly that at his. His press conference was an extraordinary litany of grievances laid out before the world.

Kennedy, on the other hand, exuded calm and authority. It was the press conference of a young guy who knows he’s on the winning side, but not only that; it’s a guy who knows he’s on the right side of the big debates, a guy who knows he’s one of the good guys.

And his defence of Brown was stellar.

“People are picking on Scott Brown, trying to make an issue, but Scott’s behaviour was first-class, he conducted himself very well … In terms of how he conducts himself, there’s no issue.”

When it was put to him that Brown shouldn’t have gone to celebrate in front of the small contingent of Ibrox fans, Kennedy slapped back hard.

“The game finished in the corner [where the melee took place at the end],” he said, in a display of logic that must have been baffling to the hacks. “There was a tackle, the ball went out for a throw, the final whistle went, as always there was a celebration. It was a coming together and quickly resolved. There’s no issue from our end.”

And indeed, when you re-watch the TV footage, as I have several times now, the so-called “celebration” in front of their fans lasted mere seconds. Reading the hysterical nonsense in the press today, you’d think the whole team did the Huddle over in that corner.

Brown and a couple of other players were there and gone in moments.

The reaction of the Ibrox players at the end was a flat-out disgrace; the media wants to focus on our player rather than just say that out loud. Brown was not inciting anything; that whole club reeks of sore loser syndrome and this was just another example of it.

Kennedy owned them today. He nailed the lid shut on this nonsense, by providing context.

The hacks didn’t expect that.

Actually, neither did I. I was delighted with him.

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