Celtic pundit Stevie Mullen has recently been talking about Shane Duffy and how the Bhoys should use him.
Mullen was a guest on the latest episode of the ‘A Celtic State of Mind’ podcast and the panel discussed multiple issues involving the Bhoys. One topic of discussion was Duffy and Mullen believes that if Celtic want the Irishman to start moves on the pitch, they will be left disappointed.
Duffy had joined Celtic on loan from Brighton in the summer transfer window. The central defender had scored two goals in his first two Premiership games for the Bhoys but he picked up rather disappointing ratings against the likes of Rangers, AC Milan, Aberdeen, Lille and Sparta Prague (as per WhoScored).
Mullen believes that Duffy should be told to clear the ball from the back instead of being told to help the team build from the back in possession.
Should Celtic change Shane Duffy's role?
Yes
No
He said: “He’s nowhere near back to his best – Shane Duffy. I watched the games – he’d done okay defensively, but he brought an awful lot of pressure on himself by trying to pass the ball impossibly out of the defence. Paddy Power mocked him last night, saying he should head the ball out of the defence rather than trying to pass it.
“So if we are going to play Shane Duffy – I hope the Celtic fans don’t take this as a negative sign – we should just tell him to clear his lines. Because if we’re looking to him to start the moves, I think we’re going to be disappointed.”
TIF Thoughts on Mullen’s comments regarding Shane Duffy…
In the 2018/19 Premier League campaign, Duffy had completed 28.9 passes per 90 minutes for Brighton and that isn’t exactly a high number. He had a passing accuracy of only 78.1% and as many as seven players had a higher passing accuracy than the Irishman. He could only play 0.79 progressive passes per 90 minutes (as per FBRef).
This might point towards the fact that Duffy isn’t exceptional on the ball and because of that, Celtic shouldn’t rely on him to help them build from the back.