CELTIC defender Shane Duffy has thanked Parkhead boss Neil Lennon and Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny for sticking by him during his recent run of poor form - and vowed to 'keep learning' in a bid to improve.

The 28-year-old centre-back played against England at Wembley on Thursday night, where the hosts ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.

The defeat is another steback for Duffy, who has found it difficult to get up to speed in Glasgow's east end.

But the big centre-half says he is surrounded by people that believe in him, and that he can use that faith in his ability to get back on track.

Speaking to RTE, he said: "It's a difficult time, but I'm not the first footballer to go through it and I won't be the last.

"I'm mentally strong and I can deal with this kind of stuff. It's just a tough time where performances sometimes don't go where you want it.

"I'm positive. I've got managers who believe in me, and I believe in myself. I've got good family and friends around me who push me, and good pros who have been there and done it.

"That's what I've got to do - keep cracking on. I know it just doesn't change overnight. So I'll keep trying, keep learning.

"It'll take a lot more than what they're doing at the minute to keep me down."

Duffy added that despite the defeat to England, he could see one or two positives that the Irish players could take from the game - and argued that the recent spate of injuries didn't help their cause.

He continued: "It's probably been the story of the week again where we're getting injuries, we're getting all sorts thrown at us.

"But we're trying our best to deal with it. I think the lads came on and did well. We've got to adapt, these are the times we're in, and it's no different with the team.

"We're trying our best to go on and give it our all. It was a disappointment that John had to go out, but we just had to deal with it and the lads did well when they came on.

"A couple of positives to take out of the game. We knew it was going to be a tough night, but we started well enough to be in it.

"Then they got the goals, and it killed us a bit. Some positives but probably not good enough on the night."