Celtic Must Give Daniel Kelly A New Deal And Then Put Him Back In The B Team.

I never usually start a piece with so controversial a headline as that, but this is one of those times when I’ll make an exception because an exception is called for. I like the look of Daniel Kelly and I have high hopes for this kid and for his future at Celtic Park, but I stand by that headline nonetheless and I’m going to give you my reasons for that.

First, we already put an awful lot of pressure on our academy players.

Rocco Vata is under intense pressure, in part because he hasn’t signed a deal yet but it would be no less weighty if he did because then he’d be under pressure to do well enough to get into the team and prove that he belongs there. Mikey Johnston is the living proof of the pressure playing at Celtic imposes on a footballer, and is only thriving away from it.

It’s also a lot to ask to throw this kid into the deep end of a tight title race, and worse if he’s being pushed into a side which already has a weakened midfield. Play him in a side with a fully fit Callum McGregor and the equation looks different. Put him in a team where he’s carrying the water alongside Bernardo and Iwata and you cause him problems.

A youth player, unless he stands out a mile, unless he’s absolutely off-the-charts in terms of potential and has enough about him in the here and now to merit huge hype and tremendous trust, should be eased into a team, preferably a winning one, with no pressure on him at all. Pressure is necessary eventually, and if he’s got the stuff, he’ll end up starting important games, but you can’t just throw a player in at the deep end unless you’re sure.

It’s also necessary to ease the expectations of the fans. Nothing is worse for a kid than having the fans get over-excited about him because if he doesn’t fulfil the potential, it leaves people not only disappointed but some get angry over it, as if the kid was to blame for just not working hard enough. This is a problem young players experience all across the game. Take a look at some of the Norwich fans on Adam Idah before he moved here on loan.

I hear great thinks about Daniel Kelly and I want to see him make it, in part because it’s been a while since Lennoxtown produced a proper next-level talent and it would be good to see some evidence that it’s not just a big expensive white elephant.

But wanting to protect the player and ease him into this side gradually is only part of my reasons for hoping we give him a new deal and then put him back in the B team for the rest of this season. I don’t want Lawwell getting any ideas that midfield is an area where we can scrimp and save a few quid in the coming summer, and that’s a very real fear and a very real risk.

The football department should run wholly independent of the bean-counters, but I know there will be people at the club who will assess the midfield in how many “options” the manager has rather than on whether any of them are any damned good.

If we suddenly have some up-coming young talent in the side the chances are that the board will force the manager to bring him on, with all the attendant risks that carries, rather than allow him the quality he needs in the here and now.

Daniel Kelly deserves his deal because he played a lot of football in the B side and earned his place on the periphery of the first team squad.

But there are good reasons for not rushing him into a permanent place in it during what’s left of this campaign. It says a lot – it speaks volumes – that the manager trusts him over the multi-million pound Holm, another damning indictment of the signing policy, and that’s not just because the manager doesn’t think the Norwegian is all that good.

The boss likes this kid and thinks he’ll go far, hence the offer of a new deal and hopefully progress towards getting him ready for next season when, hopefully, we’ll be able to integrate him into a winning side where the pressure isn’t as crazy as it is now.