Shane Duffy has fired back at Gary Breen for suggesting that he could develop bad habits after signing for his boyhood club for the rest of the season, as reported by The Scottish Sun.
The centre-half isn’t the only one to have fired back at the former Republic of Ireland international with Neil Lennon also being none to pleased with how Breen criticised the move.
Duffy must be keeping up to date with Vital Celtic as he echoed our thoughts about how playing in a different system and getting used to a new way of defending further up the pitch could actually enhance his overall performance rather than seeing a deterioration, when asked to comment on his countryman’s thoughts he said:
“That’s his opinion but obviously he doesn’t really know me personally or he’d know I’m not the kind of player who would drop his standards. Playing for a club like Celtic you can’t drop your standards or you don’t play and you don’t win leagues.
“So I think it’s been a great move for me. Coming up here will help me push on and improve my game more than anything.
“Down south I would be sitting deep and digging in. But I’m getting on the ball quite a bit now and defending higher up the pitch.
“If I can add that to my game I’m hoping it’s going to make me a better player, not pick up bad habits.
“Listen I’ve really enjoyed it so far. Obviously we had two tricky games at Ross County and St Mirren.
“People can say what they want about the standard of the Scottish game, that’s their opinion and everyone is entitled to their opinion.
“I don’t read too much into it to be honest. I’m just trying to focus on my own game because it’s a different kind of test up here for me than it was down south but it’s something I’m really enjoying.”
What Duffy also revealed was that he had spoken to his international boss, Stephen Kenny, prior to making the move, thankfully he also has experience of working in Scotland and encouraged him to make the move.
Will Duffy improve or regress on loan at Celtic?
Develop into a better defender
Become complacent playing against weaker opposition
Football is a game of opinions but occasionally ex-players and pundits open their mouths before engaging their brains, Breen has never played or coached in Scotland and hasn’t considered the differences between playing for Brighton and Celtic, you don’t go to Parkhead and regress unless you can’t handle the pressure, all he has done is make himself look daft – sometimes it is better to keep your mouth quiet and let people think you are stupid, rather than open it and remove all doubt.