Things have not gone to plan for Shane Duffy at Celtic. Many criticised his decision to move to the club at the time, with the common consensus being that a player of his ability would find things a bit too easy in the Scottish Premiership.
The reality has been far different. The defender's form has been very poor, even finding himself out of the starting lineup for large stretches. It hasn't helped that he has been playing in a struggling team, but he has certainly done little to improve their fortunes.
The Derry native is running out of time to turn things around in Glasgow, but this season could have longer lasting consequences. With the 29-year old unlikely to have a future at Brighton, his form this season won't have drawn too many longing gazes from potential suitors in England.
Despite this, Neil Lennon feels Duffy could yet find his form. The Celtic boss admits the player has struggled, but believes current off the field circumstances have contributed to that.
I think he’s just found it difficult to settle.
He’s up here on his own. Life away from the training ground is difficult for them all but especially the guys who are on their own.
He will be the first to admit he hasn’t been as good or as consistent as he can be. He will be massively disappointed with that because of the way he feels about the club.
But there is still time for him to find his best form between now and the end of the season. He’s been very self- analytical — to his detriment — and very hard on himself.
He’s been getting a chorus of criticism from all and sundry. When you go home to an empty house that can be difficult to deal with.
But we give him all the support we can and hopefully we will start seeing the best of him soon...
They are human beings at the end of the day. They have come up here in good faith. It is obviously not the picture they expected.
By everyone’s predictions we were hoping that your freedoms, restaurants, cafes would be open and all the stuff players do in their social lives.
Celtic's quest for a tenth consecutive league title has been disastrous thus far, with the club currently sitting 21 points behind leaders Rangers, although they do have two games in hand.
On a personal level, Duffy will be hoping to find some form ahead of Ireland's World Cup qualifiers in March.
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