Celtic loanee flourishes for Bolton Wanderers while claiming one key similarity between them and parent club
The striker made his short term move to EFL League One from Parkhead in January
Johnny Kenny is hoping to draw on his experiences at Celtic in Bolton Wanderers’ promotion push going into the business end of the season.
The Celtic loanee made his short term move to Greater Manchester in January after a dip in form, however he appears to have found his groove in England’s third tier, with five goal contributions in his last seven. Bolton currently sit fourth in the table and look destined for the play-offs with just five games to go of the regular season.
Kenny believes there are certain similarities between the Wanderers and his parent club, which has helped him settle into his new environment. Having been a Premiership side for 13 years, expectations for promotion are high among the fans at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, but playing with pressure is something the Irishman is already used to after spending the last four years at Celtic.
Kenny relishing Bolton pressure
He told The Bolton News: “All the time, I am just thinking about improving. I want to give this club everything I have. I want every performance to get better, to help the squad, and playing for Celtic you have to relish those big days. They are all big days up there. It's win or bust. The last few games for Bolton are all against sides that are around that top seven or eight.
“Now's the time to step up and show why I've been brought to the club along with the other lads. I just love playing football. Pressure is probably a privilege. It just shows what those fans expect from you. They expected a lot up there (at Celtic), and I have seen that is the case here as well. It's up to me to deliver the expectations and I hope I can because if you want to be a top player you have to show yourself in big games.”
It was a disappointing international break for Kenny, who was in the Republic of Ireland squad that failed to qualify for the World Cup after their agonising defeat on penalties to Czechia. However, since returning, the 22-year old has went from strength-to-strength, scoring in Bolton’s last two matches against Plymouth Argyle and Stockport County respectively.
Why was Kenny loaned out to Bolton?
The striker has previously been farmed out Queen’s Park and Shamrock Rovers since signing for Celtic from Sligo Rovers in 2021. It was an inconsistent start to the season for Kenny, who bagged the opener against Rangers in October, however other than that, it had been a fairly disappointing campaign, with four Hoops league goals in 15 appearances.
The loan additions of Tomas Cvancara, Junior Adamu and Joel Mvuka showed Celtic were looking to add depth in forward areas in January, with Kenny falling by the way side. He made his Bolton switch on Deadline Day following the late window moves, having already found himself behind Daizen Maeda and Kelechi Iheanacho in Martin O’Neill’s selection pecking order.