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Celtic manager Neil Lennon has reiterated that defender Shane Duffy has his full support after some difficult form of late.

Duffy, 28, has played every single minute since he joined on a season-long loan from Premier League club Brighton and is a nailed-on starter in the Bhoys XI.

The Scottish champions have had a difficult time of late, as they were defeated 2-0 by rivals Rangers in the league and recorded a 3-3 draw at the weekend against Aberdeen.

In-between the domestic league games Lennon’s side were also beaten 3-1 by AC Milan in the Europa League and they are currently preparing for their trip to Lille on Thursday.

Celtic centre-back Duffy has made a string of individual errors in those games and there has been plenty of criticism fired towards him, but he’s received the backing of the manager.

“He’s just had a bumpy week but he’s a quality player. He made a mistake at the weekend but first-half he was excellent. He’s a human being and he made a mistake, but he shouldn’t be hung out to dry for it. He has my full support,” Lennon said, as quoted by the club’s official website.

TBR’s View:

It’s been a torrid time of late for Duffy, who made a big error against Aberdeen on Sunday that lead to their second goal and he looks like someone that is struggling for confidence.

But the Republic of Ireland international will surely get a boost from his manager’s comments and he is clearly still a first pick in the XI.

The towering defender needs to get back to basics in his game and simplifying his game in the coming weeks will go a long way to helping that.