SHANE DUFFY has made a brutal assessment of his failure at Celtic last term and admitted “a blind man” would have seen he was struggling.
The Republic of Ireland international centre-back realised a lifetime ambition when he joined his boyhood favourites on a season-long loan from Brighton.
Duffy began his stint in impressive form and scored a goal on his debut in the 5-0 win over Ross County in Dingwall on September 12 and followed that up with another crucial counter in a hard-fought 2-1 success over St Mirren in Paisley.
Unfortunately, his form dipped alarmingly along with that of his Hoops team-mates as the quest for a historic tenth successive title came off the rails in inexplicable fashion.
GOAL No.1…Shane Duffy leaps above friend and foe to power in a header in his debut in the 5-0 win over Ross County in Dingwall.
GOAL No.2…Shane Duffy, watched by Kristoffer Ajer, thumps in one against St Mirren during the Hoops’ comeback 2-1 victory.
Neil Lennon departed as manager in February during the champions’ alarming fall from grace that saw them complete a wretched term without silverware for the first time in 11 years.
Duffy left with five games still to play and quietly returned to the south coast club to sit out the remainder of a disastrous experience.
The experienced 29-year-old pivot, who has scored five goals in 48 appearances for his country, was axed to make way for Stephen Welsh and he had no argument with his removal from first-team action.
The defender, speaking to the Daily Record, acknowledged: “It was the right decision because I was nowhere near the level that I can show.
“A blind man could have seen that I was nowhere near where I had been at.”
FAREWELL, HOOPS…Shane Duffy’s message on Instagram after leaving Celtic.
It wasn’t all bad for Duffy in Glasgow, though, and the Derry-born player was in the line-up that overcame Hearts in a penalty-kick shoot-out after a dramatic 3-3 extra-time encounter. The Hoops fan can say he played his part in the club sealing their phenomenal quadruple treble.
After leaving the club, Duffy uploaded a photo of Celtic celebrating their success in the Scottish Cup Final to Instagram to mark his stay at the club, as CQN reported in May.
He wrote: “Grateful for the opportunity to get the chance to play for a club that many dream about doing. Thanks to the supporters and the players for helping me through a tough year on and off the field. Not many know what goes on behind the scenes.
“Time to hit restart and get myself sorted. Celtic Football Club will always have a place in my heart. Hail hail.”
