Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy’s Johnny Kenny dilemma | OneFootball

Wilfried Nancy has acknowledged that managing Johnny Kenny’s confidence and output is a decision that ultimately rests with him as the season progresses at Celtic…

21.12.2025 Celtic v Aberdeen, Scottish Premiership. Johnny Kenny gets his shot away Photo Kenny Ramsay

The 23 year-old forward has found himself under scrutiny following a run of missed opportunities, which came during the first half against both Dundee United and Aberdeen.

With the January transfer window approaching, those struggles have made it absolutely certain that Celtic need not just one striker but two if they are to do anything in this current campaign both domestically and in Europe.

However, Nancy has urged perspective, pointing out that forwards will inevitably experience fluctuations in form. He stressed that even when a side is creating a steady stream of chances, converting every opportunity is an unrealistic expectation in the modern game.

Johnny Kenny misses. Dundee Utd v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Tannadice, 17 December 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Speaking via The Scotsman, the Celtic boss said: “It is my job to be honest with the player. Sometimes I have to hug them; sometimes I have to tell them it is not good enough. This is the way I am as a coach.”

“I have to find the balance and the right moments to play with this situation. When there is a player who misses a goal or a pass, the first person who is sad is him. I have to find the solution to help him.”

Nancy added: “I know that it is not easy to score goals. I am happy with the chances that we created, but obviously we have to score more goals. It could be confidence, tactic, technique, or emotion. We have to analyse all these things to help the players to score goals.”

Johnny Kenny, Premier Sports Cup Final, St Mirren v Celtic, Hampden Park, 14 December 2025. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

“The execution that we had against Aberdeen was a bit better. In the previous game, we could have scored so many goals too. Against Dundee, we missed three or four tap-ins. It could have been 3-0 at halftime, but it was not the case.”

“I also like the competitive spirit that we had to avoid conceding. We were better in terms of set pieces. Not the first contact, because that has been good for the moment, but for the second contact, the second ball, and the third wave.”

Johnny Kenny – St Mirren v Celtic, 23 November 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

“The competitive spirit was really good. The only difference is we scored goals. We had really good performances during few halves in other games but we did not score. Now we did score, so it is a different story.”

Conor Spence

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