Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic lost to AEK Athens in the Champions League qualifiers on Thursday.
Chris Sutton has written in The Daily Record that he feels sorry for Celtic defender Jack Hendry.
Hendry has been criticised by some for his performance for Celtic against AEK Athens in the Champions League qualifiers this week.
The 23-year-old defender – who joined the Hoops from Dundee in the January transfer window for a fee reported by Sky Sports to be worth £1.2 million – featured in the second leg of the Champions League Qualifying Third Round in Greece on Thursday evening.
The Scotland international did not play well, as Celtic lost 2-1 and were knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers.
Former Celtic striker Sutton has stated that he feels sorry for the former Partick Thistle and Wigan Athletic defender.
Former Celtic midfielder and manager David Hay has also defended Hendry.
Sutton wrote in The Daily Record: “I actually feel sorry for Jack Hendry. He’s been made a scapegoat but he should not have been in that position in the first place.
“There’s no way he was signed for the Champions League but he was thrust in at the deep end. Everyone knew the defence needed sorting out.”
Hay wrote in The Glasgow Evening Times: “There has been a lot of flak aimed at Jack Hendry in the last couple of weeks, but I think it is unfair.
“He’s 23 and while that is not young in footballing terms, he lacks experience at the top level. The fault doesn’t lie with Hendry for the defeat in Athens, but with Celtic’s defending collectively.”
Improvement needed
Hendry is a good defender and is still quite young at the age of 23, but there is no doubt that the Scotland international needs to improve.
That, though, can only happen if Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers makes him a regular in his team.
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