Youths get taste of big time with Celtic

Celtic's youth coach John Kennedy (right) and Mikael Lustig promote Celtic's UEFA Youth League match against AC Milan. Picture: PA

In the corridors of power in European football, whoever within Uefa came up with the brainwave that the cubs of a club should join the main pride when they travel to play parallel matches might just be responsible for a masterstroke.

John Kennedy, the Celtic youth coach, certainly struggled to come up with any cold logic yesterday that could temper his enthusiasm about the inauguration of the Uefa Youth League.

Celtic’s youths, managed by Kennedy and Stevie Frail, play AC Milan at 2pm tomorrow before mirroring the seniors’ endeavours in a further five matches against the Italian giants, Ajax and Barcelona.

The kids are not only grateful to Neil Lennon’s senior squad for giving them the chance to measure their development against three of the greatest clubs in Europe; their excitement is doubled by the fact they will be travelling to Milan in the same carriage as Scott Brown and Co, and attending the San Siro game after taking part in their own.

Asked to underline how this new concept puts its predecessor, the NextGen Series, in the shade, Kennedy said: “The added value is the first team, the fact you are in the same group as them. So we’ll be playing away from home and then be in the San Siro watching the first team and that will be a massive part of their learning curve.

“Now the players will see it first hand, see the first team in action and that’s a massive part to play in their development. We are on the team flight. We will be pretty much replicating the first-team stuff, so it’s good. It’s five-star treatment and it’s good because it gives them good preparation and see what it’s like to be involved in the first-team environment. It’s a great experience for the players.”

The youths, whose afternoon game in Milan will be televised live on Celtic TV, will not travel with Lennon’s personnel to Amsterdam and Barcelona for subsequent games in the group, which take place on the day prior to the Champions League fixture. If anything, this is probably for the best – give them one taste of the big time and then let them  develop an appetite for another.

Former Celtic defender Kennedy, who revealed that Neil Lennon addressed the Under-19s before a recent match with Partick Thistle, added: “I wish I had this sort of thing when I was a young player. It helps prepare you as best you can for when you make the big step.

“The Champions League is a massive step from domestic football – it’s a big gulf. If we get the opportunity now to bed young players in it’ll certainly stand them in good stead.

“For me as a coach, and Stevie Frail too, it’s great. To go and test yourself against the AC Milans, Barcelonas and Ajaxs of the world is great.”