Celtic assistant John Kennedy has his say on 2019 derby dust-up with Rangers’ Michael Beale as he senses 'something special'

It wasn’t one of the flashier flashpoints in the history of derby skirmishes between Glasgow’s bitter rivals.
Celtic John Kennedy remains as non-plussed now as he appeared in 2019 when Rangers assistant Michael Beale shouting in his direction was presented as a spat.(Photo by Bill Murray / SNS Group)Celtic John Kennedy remains as non-plussed now as he appeared in 2019 when Rangers assistant Michael Beale shouting in his direction was presented as a spat.(Photo by Bill Murray / SNS Group)
Celtic John Kennedy remains as non-plussed now as he appeared in 2019 when Rangers assistant Michael Beale shouting in his direction was presented as a spat.(Photo by Bill Murray / SNS Group)

And John Kennedy believes his role in an incident that saw Michael Beale, then Rangers assistant to Steven Gerrard, angrily shout towards him on being sent off in a 2-1 win for Neil Lennon’s Celtic in March 2019 has been misunderstood. The pair will be well separated by the sizable technical areas at Hampden as the two clubs square off for the first silverware of the season in Sunday’s Viaplay Cup final. An occasion that will see Beale now in charge of the Ibrox side and Kennedy no.2 to Ange Postecoglou. And the former Scotland international takes a fairly neutral line when discussing his interactions with the Rangers manager of now three months’ standing.

“I’ve come across Michael a couple of times at various coaching things, we’ve crossed paths many times over the years,” he said. “I’ve not spoken to him since he came back to Scotland. As I said, we’ve crossed paths doing badges and stuff but we never really had any relationship outside that. I was only speaking to the referee back then [in 2019], it wasn’t much to be honest.”

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Kennedy isn’t so non-plussed when it comes to the form Celtic will take into Hampden. Unbeaten in their past 23 domestic encounters - 22 of these won - he sees the same drive within the current set-up as helped propel the club to trebles in the Brendan Rodgers and Martin O’Neill periods. Postecoglou’s men, with a strangehold of a Premiership they lead by nine points, will seek to take a major step towards a clean sweep of the Scottish honours at the national stadium this weekend. “You can feel it when you are part of these things,” said Kennedy, a young player in O’Neill’s stint that landed a treble in 2001 and first-team coach under Rodgers between 2016 and 2019, as Celtic were set on a path to four straight such triple hauls. “You get a sense every day the team are on it and really hungry. They have a real intent and focus. I’ve seen that through all of those eras. I remember it in Brendan’s team. They had the bit between their teeth and a huge hunger to succeed and to continually succeed.

“We’ve got a group now who have had a small taste of success [with a title and League Cup], in terms of what the club has achieved over the years. They’ve got a taste for it and they are hungry for more. When you have that in a group it’s very strong. The manager uses it psychologically all the time. He’s very good on that side of things and motivating players. We certainly feel at the moment we are building towards something special. But we can’t take our eyes off the ball.”

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