Today Scotland’s Glasgow Celtic played out a 2-1 win against Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League at Celtic Park. In many ways it was an insignificant game. Celtic have first faltered and then essentially collapsed this season. New manager Tony Mobray was deemed a failure, and has since been replaced by former Celtic legendary player Neil Lennon. Celtic are 10 points behind fierce rivals Rangers in the league, and on Saturday they embarrassingly lost to Ross County in the cup.
These developments are even worse for South Korean player Ki Sung-yeung. He hasn’t played a single game for caretaker manager Lennon, not even featuring on the substitutes bench for the last three games. I’ve written before about what I think it will take for him to become successful in European football, especially in British football. Mostly, he needs to adjust to living in Scotland, then adjust to the style of football, the number of games played in the Scottish league (a lot more than in the K-League) and he needs to improve physically – he needs to get stronger and quicker. He has the talent, but it seems that Neil Lennon doesn’t think he’s ready or capable of helping Celtic improve on their poor season just yet.
Ki Sung-yeung needs to show Lennon what he's capable of
Lennon has also threatened a complete overhaul of the squad in the summer if performances don’t improve. What could this mean for Ki? With only a few games left, it’s hard to see him making much more of an impact this season as Lennon doesn’t seem to want to pick him at all. Mowbray was definitely a fan of the young midfielder, and gave him the responsibility of taking corners and some free kicks, as well as simply giving him game time. Ki is also not the first Korean player Mowbray had signed, as he also bought Kim Do-heon when he was manager of West Bromwich Albion.
So, with Ki’s ally and perhaps mentor Tony Mowbray gone, how does he fit into Neil Lennon’s plans for the future, if Lennon stays as Celtic manager for next season, which hasn’t been decided yet. I think it’s very hard to say. If Lennon appreciates Ki’s talents, maybe he just doesn’t think he’s ready to play every match just yet. On the other hand, it’s possible he’s just not a fan of Ki and will want to sell him on.
Ki Sung-yeung in action
I said before that the Scottish League would certainly help Ki improve his game so he could compete in one of Europe’s bigger leagues – most likely the English Premier League, as this seems to be his preferred choice. I hope he keeps working hard to constantly improve, and to fight for the team. He’s talented enough to be starting in the Celtic midfield but it needs more than just talent at this level. If Celtic do decide to sell him in the summer, I desperately hope he doesn’t go back to Korea. He needs to play regularly in a European team. If, for example, a team from the English Championship wanted to sign him I think he should jump at the chance. Playing for a team in the Championship means there’s slightly less pressure than the Premiership, which means he can focus on his game without worrying that any mistake he makes could have huge consequences. It also means he will have more chances to play regularly. This is what he needs more than anything. I hope he gets given the chance soon.
One thing is for sure, though, if he doesn’t play every game for Celtic before the end of the season, he will be less tired than a lot of players when the World Cup starts in June, which can only be good for Korea.
Korean Football Blog 