Celtic<\/a> had to get back to business against Falkirk to get the title race back on track \u2013 and restore some kind of sense ahead of the Premier Sports Cup semi-final showdown with Rangers.<\/p>\nKenny\u2019s brace against the Bairns was just the ticket and he\u2019s now bang in the frame to start the derby clash, even with Daizen Maeda back fit.<\/p>\n
And the 22-year-old Irish hitman is eying a place in the history books.<\/p>\n
Kenny said: \u201cOne hundred percent. It’s probably the biggest fixture in world football and it can create heroes.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few years ago Adam Idah came in and scored a big goal against them in the Scottish Cup Final (in 2024).<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully I can replicate something like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a massive game and it would be a marker put down by us to get into another cup final.<\/p>\n
\u201cResults haven\u2019t been great recently but we want to win games, that\u2019s what we are here to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would put us into another final and it\u2019s against our rivals. People will say we haven\u2019t been great in the last few weeks and this can be a statement victory come Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would be a positive end to a traumatic week. Kenny admitted Rodgers\u2019s resignation hit hard.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cTuesday was obviously a hectic day. It was disappointing. Since I\u2019ve been here, it\u2019s always been Brendan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was tough. It\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve lost a manager in my career, so it was strange around the training ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew we had to come together and get a good result.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrendan changed my life and changed my career. I\u2019ll be forever grateful for that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut obviously he\u2019s gone now and we need to battle on.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was job done against Falkirk and it helped the Rodgers hole has been filled by such a huge character.<\/p>\n
Kenny was still in his buggy when O\u2019Neill\u2019s first spell at Celts ended in 2025 but the striker didn\u2019t need much introduction.<\/p>\n
![\"Celtic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_Celtic-v-Falkirk-William-Hill-Premiership.jpg\")
Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI knew he was very successful here, but that\u2019s about it. I would have been very young when he was in charge of the club before.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe obviously managed Ireland to some big moments (from 2013-2018) so while I don\u2019t know a lot about him, I know a fair bit.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s so well respected and it\u2019s fully deserved. He\u2019s done so much for this football club and hopefully he can bring that to us in the next few games and forever long he\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Falkirk win was much needed, not just in terms of points but in recapturing some kind of feel good factor around the club amid the anti-board protests and everything else.<\/p>\n
The Hoops were on the front foot, it was more direct and the goals flowed a lot easier than it has for much of this season so far.<\/p>\n
A tougher test lies in waiting at Hampden, but it was a start, and some breathing space while the Parkhead suits conduct the search for a new long-term managerial appointment.<\/p>\n
Kenny said: \u201cAt Celtic there is always pressure no matter who the manager is or what the style of play might be.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just need to answer that pressure, put in big performances and get results.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe manager just said to go out and be free \u2013 but that we needed to win. Simple as that. Thankfully we did.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was also much needed for Kenny, after stepping in for the injured Kelechi Iheanacho and missing a raft of chances in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
![\"Celtic's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_JS386163489.jpg\")
Celtic’s Johnny Kenny celebrates as he scores to make it 2-0<\/p>\n
The former Shamrock Rovers goal machine notched against Livingston earlier in the campaign and got a couple last term, but he\u2019s still had his doubters.<\/p>\n
Confidence is soaring again though and Kenny said: \u201cIt was brilliant. It\u2019s obviously great to get two goals in any game. I felt like it was coming in my last performance, but I just didn\u2019t manage to hit the net.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut thankfully it did against Falkirk.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt brilliant. We needed that result. The fans really got behind us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenny is convinced he can crack it if O\u2019Neill and no.2 Shaun Maloney keep the faith for Hampden this weekend.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cDefinitely. I\u2019d like to think so. It was key for me to get the goals as the longer it goes on\u2026 But having got the goals the other night, hopefully it can spur me on.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a massive boost for me. I don\u2019t think anyone knows what it means.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want to go on not scoring. Hopefully I can take this in to Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be one of the biggest games of my career to start. A Glasgow Derby against in a semi-final of a cup. So, hopefully, yeah.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery player is desperate to be on the team sheet every week and it\u2019s no different for me.<\/p>\n
“I just need to keep my head down and keep working hard and hopefully delivering on the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Johnny Kenny is determined to end a traumatic week by writing his place in the Hoops history books…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[23924,7336,2817,218,95231,8058,11728,101,56,54,55,37776,12432],"class_list":["post-235177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-adam-idah","tag-brendan-rodgers","tag-celtic-fc","tag-football","tag-johnny-kenny","tag-scottish-premiership","tag-scottish-professional-football-league","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-west-lothian","tag-william-hill-scottish-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Celtic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_Celtic-v-Falkirk-William-Hill-Scottish-Premiership-Football-Celtic-Park-Glasgow-Scotland-UK-.jpg\")
Celtic stars celebrate(Image: Mark Runnacles\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n