“I’m here to win games, it’s as simple as that.”
Mikhail Kennedy is ready to make a break for it and he’s ready to do it at Derry City.
For four years, he has been exciting Charlton fans with his goalscoring exploits in the underage ranks and now he’s signed on loan with the Candy Stripes until June.
After winning the Milk Cup with Northern Ireland in 2014, the attacker began rising to more and more prominence across the water but the facts of the matter are that he needs senior football now and that’s exactly what Kenny Shiels has offered him.
🎥 | Mikhail Kennedy bagged a last-gasp winner for our U23s against @WatfordFC yesterday afternoon… #cafc pic.twitter.com/j3c3zJGb4L
— Charlton Athletic FC (@CAFCofficial) November 22, 2016
Back in August 2015, the London outfit threw the Derry native into the fray and he scored on his debut in a League Cup win over Peterborough, but chances have been few and far between since then as the club crash-landed through a tumultuous few years on and off the field.
But the 20-year-old has carried on doing what he does anyway and it’s the simple business of scoring goals. He’s scored seven in his last three bloody under-23 games with Charlton and now he has signed up with Derry City, nine days out from their Airtricity League opener at Bohemians.
Derry City are delighted to announce the loan signing of @MikhailKennedy from @CAFCofficial – welcome home! #rawa pic.twitter.com/mlT634vi6n
— Derry City FC (@derrycityfc) February 15, 2017
Kennedy has been playing up front with the Addicks at times but he prefers the freedom to drop into a 10. Not that he’s picky. And not that his new manager doesn’t already know all about him anyway.
Shiels brought the youngster with him to Kilmarnock when he was just 15. They go way back. And that’s only one of the reasons why Derry was chosen ahead of a number of clubs.
It was thought last month that Kennedy would opt for a loan move to German fourth tier table-toppers Carl Zeiss Jena. Sligo Rovers were said to be sniffing around too. Then came City.
“To be honest, my mind was made up when I heard about Derry,” Kennedy told SportsJOE.
“I went over and had a look at Jena in Germany – it was actually a really good setup. I had a couple of options in the Conference as well but I thought if I go there, it’s just going to be long ball football and it won’t really benefit me as much as Derry.
“People are going to look at it and say he’s home sick and he wanted home but it was never, ever like that. I had to do it. The manager spoke to me and said, ‘listen, you need experience’. I had to do it and, as much as I didn’t really want to move back to Ireland, at times you have to do things to aid your football career so I did it.”
FT | It finishes with honours even as #Millwall U23s share a 1-1 draw with @CAFCofficial.@twardek's first-half goal cancelled out by Kennedy pic.twitter.com/gGQo1ITayD
— Millwall FC (@MillwallFC) December 12, 2016
Charlton’s new boss Karl Robinson was mad keen to see Kennedy playing in the League of Ireland. He also advised him to go back home rather than play in the Conference.
“Charlton have good links with Irish teams and they know that the standard of football is really good,” the Northern Ireland international said.
“He [Robinson] came in and spoke to me and told me to go for it. He said it’s better to go there [Ireland] than the Conference because the team’s going to play good football and they’ve got Europa League this year. He said it was a no-brainer.
“People are looking at Irish football a lot differently now. It’s not a Mickey Mouse league. I think English people always looked down on it but now when they’re seeing quality like what Richie Towell scored the other week for Brighton, Daryl Horgan scoring already, James McClean going from Derry to Sunderland, there are teams taking a big interest in Irish football, especially with what Dundalk did last year.
“A good half a season and, if I don’t get into Charlton’s first team, it’s going to open doors for me. It’s first team football and the only thing you can’t buy is experience.”
And with that experience, Kennedy isn’t going to judge himself lightly. He’s got a yard stick and, no matter where he’s playing, he’ll use that as an indicator of his effect.
“I’m here to win games, it’s as simple as that. I’m not just here for my health, I’m here to win games and I’m here to score goals.
“No matter where I play, I’ll always see myself as a goalscorer and I’ll judge myself on how many goals I get – that’s what I do.”
This could prove to be the shrewdest signing of the off-season. The Brandywell could just have uncovered a gem.
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