Ronny Deila 'scared' remarks misconstrued - John Kennedy

Celtic lost 4-3 on aggregate to Malmo in the final round of Champions League qualifying

First team coach John Kennedy insists there are "no hard feelings" over Celtic manager Ronny Deila's comments on his players being "scared".

Deila made the assertion immediately after Tuesday's Champions League play-off loss to Malmo.

"I think what he's meaning is we weren't brave enough to get on the ball like we normally would at Celtic Park," Kennedy told BBC Scotland.

"Sometimes the manager will say things and the translation can be mixed up."

As he always does, Deila gave his post-match press conference in English and Kennedy thinks the Norwegian's remarks were misconstrued because it is not his first language.

"We allowed Malmo to get on top of us and from then on it was very, very difficult. I think that's what he's meaning," added Kennedy on the 2-0 loss in Sweden.

"That attitude and confidence we've shown at Celtic Park in the first leg didn't come through in the second leg and that's what we wanted to see - because if we did do that it should be enough to take us through the tie but we didn't perform on the night."

Kris Commons and captain Scott Brown both disagreed with Deila's assessment in the interviews they gave after the match.

However, Kennedy says the squad remains united.

Kennedy was talking at the League Cup draw, where Celtic were paired with Raith Rovers

"Heads have been a bit low the last few days," added the coach. "We had a good training session this morning which is always good to get things out the system.

"We had a chat. There's no hard feelings. We're all honest with each other as a group.

"We discuss things and give opinions as a collective unit and as a team. Everyone accepts a responsibility. The coaching staff, the manager, all the players accept we didn't quite do it on the night. We just have to move on, pick ourselves up and attack the rest of the season."