John Kennedy: I'm not sure Celtic will be able to replace Scott Brown - there are very few of his breed around

Several key players, including centre half Kristoffer Ajer, central midfielder Scott Brown, playmaker Ryan Christie and striker Odsonne Edouard, are set to move on in the coming weeks and reinforcements will have to arrive.

But John Kennedy, the interim manager, knows that it will be impossible for any new recruit, regardless of who he is or how much he costs, to fill the considerable void left by Brown when his captain departs for Aberdeen.  

“Everybody talks about replacing Scott Brown,” said Kennedy as he looked ahead to the Premiership match against Rangers at Ibrox tomorrow afternoon.

“But I’m not sure it will be possible to replace him. The team will have to deal with life without him and the club will have to evolve without him because there are very few of his breed around. He will certainly be missed by the club and also by the big games and fixtures like this.”

The Old Firm match has always brought out the very best in the combative, controversial, confrontational Scot.

Many of his most memorable moments during the 14 years that he has spent in the East End of Glasgow have come in the world-famous fixture.

From goading El Hadji Diouf after a long-range strike in 2011, to trolling Joey Barton after a 5-1 drubbing in 2016, to grinning at Alfredo Morelos after the fiery striker had been sent off in 2019 and then causing an on-field melee with his post-match celebrations, the game has never been dull with Broony involved.

Even Rangers manager Gerrard, whose team is this weekend bidding to go undefeated in the derby for the first time since the 1999/2000 campaign, has confessed the game will miss the 35-year-old.

Kennedy is hoping that his talismanic skipper can bow out with his 23rd  triumph in his 45th appearance.  

“Scott’s a very driven character and over his period at Celtic he has had amazing success,” he said. “Certainly in these games, he has been an iconic figure. He has stood up at big moments.

“These games always bring the best out of the best players. That’s ultimately what you see. The elite players are the ones who, when it comes to the big occasions, stand up and put in big performances. Scott has done it for a number of years. So it would be nice for him to do that one more time before he moves on.”

Asked about Gerrard’s remark, he said: “That’s respect from an opposition manager, who realises that and respects that. There is no denying that in terms of what he has given this fixture. The way he brings out his personality in these games just adds to the whole spectacle of it.”

Kennedy, who took over from Neil Lennon on an interim basis when the Northern Irishman stood down back in February, is new to management. But he is well aware that nothing less than outright victory every time his team takes to the field is required. Not least in games against Rangers.

The fifth and final Old Firm game of the season is, with the top flight having been decided weeks ago, meaningless in terms of the league. Nevertheless, Kennedy is keen for his side to salvage some pride after their frustrating defeat a fortnight ago and end their opponents’ unbeaten league run. 

He appreciates that his front men, Christie, Edouard, Leigh Griffiths, Mohamed Elyounoussi, will have to be far more clinical in attack than they have been in the past five encounters if the visitors are to prevail.

“At Celtic it's about winning,” he said. “We have those standards and it's about winning every game. We haven't done that enough and the deciding factors have been about maybe not being ruthless enough. That's what changes the whole dynamic from being happy enough to 'that's where we should be'. That is how I have seen it so far.

"It always is a chance for you and especially since in the two games we have played against Rangers recently, we have created opportunities and had enough control of the games. In the moments that are important, Rangers have been better than us.

"When they got their chances, they have been clinical and when we have created our big ones, we haven't been. That's been the difference in the games. 

"There hasn't been a huge gulf in terms of the overall performance of the teams, I really don't see much in it at all. But when it comes to big games, whether that's in Europe or against your big rivals in Scotland, it's about taking your big chances.

"That changes the whole dynamic of the games so that's something we have to have in our minds going into this game. We need to be ruthless and have that edge we have shown over a number of years, but not this season. We have to get back to that and put it right.”

Kennedy, who has been at Celtic for over 20 years as a player, scout, coach, assistant and manager, certainly understands that for their fans, who had hoped to be celebrating 10-In-A-Row but have instead endured the worst season in a decade, a win would be sweet.

"These things do mean a lot to supporters and that's the emotion of the fanbase,” he said. “You always want to be successful. This season has been a difficult one for us and people will always find stats to back that up and make a story.

"But we have to concentrate on what is important and nobody wants to beat our biggest rivals more than this group of players and myself. That's what we will be trying to do on Sunday but we have to be clinical in the big moments. "