Having helped Championship star rediscover top form after brief retirement, former boss now plotting plan to stop 'super player'

Having retired from football after a recurrence of an ACL injury picked up while playing at Charlton Athletic, Kennedy made his return with Canning’s Dergview in 2021 and enjoyed a superb 2022/23 campaign for the Darragh Park outfit, scoring 17 goals in 36 league appearances – an achievement made all the more impressive considering they finished 10th.

That form earned Kennedy a top-flight summer move to Crusaders, but with opportunities limited, the 27-year-old is now hoping to fire hometown club ‘Stute to the Premiership promised land once again.

Kennedy, who was recently named club captain after arriving at the Brandywell Stadium last month, has been on fire at the start of his stint with Kevin Deery’s men, netting five times in six matches, including the winner as Institute set up an Irish Cup quarter-final with Linfield after beating Ards on Saturday.

"I know Mikhail well - I thought I might get him in January!" said Canning. “He went to his hometown club which I can understand and they're pushing for the league.

"Mikhail is a super player. I think people lost sight of that. He scored 17 goals for me last season and he only really started to play in October because of his injury, so to score 17 goals in a team that was fighting relegation all season is fantastic.

"He got his move to Crusaders and although it didn't work out the way he wanted, he's come back into the Championship and he's scoring in almost every game for Institute.

"Mikhail has great pedigree...he was at Charlton for years and had two bad injuries. He was told he had to stop playing but then discovered that his body healed well and came back in.

"We spent a lot of time with the medical staff at Dergview rehabbing him and he was grateful for that. He's back doing what he loves to do and he's a top player.

"I know him outside of football too and I have a lot of respect for him, but come Saturday we'll be doing all we can to make sure he doesn't score."