As bad as Schmeichel & Trusty: Celtic must sell 3/10 disaster in January

Wilfried Nancy’s start to life at Celtic seems to be going from bad to worse as he lost for the sixth time in eight matches in charge of the club on Saturday.

The French boss oversaw a 3-1 defeat to Rangers in the Old Firm clash in front of his own supporters at Parkhead, which led to an incredibly frustrated reaction at the full-time whistle, and understandably so.

Whilst Nancy will, of course, come under pressure because of the dismal run of results, there should still be criticism for several players who have not done enough on the pitch.

Ranking Celtic's worst performers against Rangers

Starting as far back in the team as you can get, Kasper Schmeichel was one of the worst players on the pitch against Rangers, as he conceded three goals from four shots against him.

The experienced Dane was too slow to get down to Nicolas Raskin’s cross for Youssef Chermiti’s equaliser, and he failed to keep out the striker’s second goal with his feet. He was then far too slow to get down to Mikey Moore’s low drive, which did not go into the corner of the goal.

Auston Trusty and Anthony Ralston were also incredibly poor for the second Rangers goal, as the latter gave it away and failed to keep up with Chermiti, whilst the USA international inexplicably ran away from the onrushing forward and let him have a free shot at goal.

As you can see in the table above, we have placed Arne Engels in fifth because he was ineffective outside of set-piece situations, losing six of his eight duels, per Sofascore.

That leaves Jonny Kenny as the other player we have ranked among the five worst performers for the Hoops against the Gers, and he must be sold this month.

Why Celtic must sell Johnny Kenny

In the post-game analysis on Sky Sports, former Rangers striker Kris Boyd claimed that Kenny “is never going to be a regular striker for Celtic”, which is a damning piece of analysis that is hard to argue with.

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Kenny has been thrust into the limelight at Parkhead this season because summer signing Kelechi Iheanacho has only been fit for four league matches, and he has not stepped up to the mark.

Per FotMob, the Ireland international has scored four goals from an xG of 6.40 in the Scottish Premiership so far this season, which shows that he has been incredibly unreliable in front of goal for the Hoops.

The 22-year-old marksman was as bad as the likes of Trusty, Ralston, and Schmeichel against Rangers because Celtic could have been out of sight in the first half if he had taken his opportunities.

Just as those aforementioned defensive players allowed the Gers to win the game with their mistakes, Kenny provided the away side with a chance to get back into the match by not extending the lead.

As you can see in the table above, the Irishman had five opportunities to find the back of the net, including one ‘big chance’ and he failed to take any of them, whilst also losing the majority of his duels.

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The Hoops flop, who was given a 3/10 player rating by 67HailHail, continues to prove that he is not good enough to start games on a regular basis for Celtic as their main striker, as Boyd said.

Last summer, English League One side Bolton Wanderers had a bid turned down for the centre-forward, and the Scottish giants should contact the English club to see if they are still interested in Kenny.

If they are, the Hoops must finally sell him to make room for a new number nine to come through the door. If Bolton have moved on, they should see if any other teams are willing to sign the Ireland international before the end of the month.

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