John Kennedy: It Was Always An Honour To Talk With Billy

FOR someone to have such a prominent position within the history books of a club like Celtic tells you all you need to know about Billy McNeill’s stature as a player.

- Tony Connelly

That wasn’t lost on John Kennedy, who admitted to being awestruck by his hero upon meeting him. Equally as startling for Kennedy, however, was the humility which the Hoops legend embodied throughout his life.

Kennedy was deeply saddened to hear of Billy McNeill’s passing on Monday night and said that, even though he was gone, his name would live on forever amongst the wider Celtic family and world football.

“It’s a very sad time,” the Celtic assistant manager told the Celtic View. “He’s obviously been fighting for a while, but it’s one of those where it’s very still sad when it happens.

“He was a great guy, a great servant to the club, a great leader and captain of the club and manager of the club.

“No one will ever forget what Billy McNeill achieved here at Celtic.

“He will be an inspiration for generations of Celtic players to come. A lot of times when statues are erected for someone it’s often after that person has gone, but Billy was still with us and that shows the stature he has at this club. I remember the day of the statue unveiling well, and it was an amazing day. He’s a massive part of Celtic’s history and he always will be.

“Forevermore people will know who Billy McNeill was. In terms of young players and fans growing up, every time they come to Celtic Park they’ll see that statute and it will mean something.”

At 35-years-old, John Kennedy was born years after Lisbon Lions captain Billy McNeill had retired from playing but, like any Celtic fan, he had grown up captivated by the images and footage of that era. The Lions were a team full of greats and Kennedy said McNeill was the perfect leader for the team.