Celtic boss Neil Lennon has told The Scottish Sun that Shane Duffy is ‘feeling it’ ater intense criticism over his performances.
When the Bhoys swooped to land Duffy on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion in September, it looked like a pretty perfect deal.
Duffy was a proven Premier League defender with Brighton, but had fallen down the pecking order with Graham Potter at the helm.
As an experienced centre back who grew up supporting Celtic, the Ireland international just seemed like a major coup for the Bhoys.
However, Duffy has struggled early on at Celtic, making a number of errors – including for Aberdeen’s second goal in their 3-3 draw on Sunday.
Some believe that Duffy needs to be taking out of the firing line, but this raises the question of how to rebuild somebody’s confidence; would dropping Duffy really help?
That’s up to Neil Lennon, and with Celtic in action against Lille tonight, there is a big decision to be made about his involvement.
Lennon now claims he has had a personal chat with Duffy, and he is ‘feeling it’ as the criticism mounts – but he believes the defender will bounce back ‘straight away’.
“Shane is a big, strong boy,” said Lennon. “I had a chat with him the other night. He’s feeling it but he will come through it. We just need to show him a bit of patience. He made a mistake at the weekend, but the vitriol that comes after it is incredible. Again, it is my job to support him and that is exactly what I will do.”
“It isn’t the first time players have been thrown into the lion’s den in terms of insults and criticism. I know what Shane is going through but he has the character and personality to bounce back straight away,” he added.
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