RYAN CHRISTIE can perhaps for the first time, see a real the opportunity for himself to make an impact in the Celtic first team.
While everyone else was enduring a rotten few weeks, Christie was able to step up and play the third striker role at Celtic over the past few games – and in both the matches against FK Suduva and the slightly less impressive Rangers, the former Inverness Caley player impressed.
That opportunity presented itself to Christie amid the dramas of the Moussa Dembele transfer to Lyon. Christie can see the positives from a personal perspective in that transfer happening, “from a selfish point of view it is quite good for me.”
Christie was speaking to the media today at Hampden where he helped launch the SPFL Match Attax 18/19 Collection, and inevitably he was asked about the victory on Sunday in the Glasgow Derby.
????️ Ryan Christie: “We are delighted with the result at the weekend. We said that if we could win all three games leading up to the international break then that would put us right back on track and we would take real confidence from that.” pic.twitter.com/clx69bXTgj
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) September 5, 2018
“We are delighted with the result at the weekend,” Christie said.
“We said that if we could win all three games leading up to the international break then that would put us right back on track and we would take real confidence from that.”
The three wins were achieved and the transfer window will remain well and truly shut until January when the misery will start again. Before that we’ll have the Europa League matches to enjoy and while we might not make as much cash as we’d get from being in the Champions League, at least we’ll have a chance in these games.
“We are delighted to get into the Europa League and we have real aspirations to do well in that competition,” Christie stated.
“We feel we are back to what we know we are as a team and hopefully we can kick on.”
Christie was highly regarded by Derek McInnes who described him as Aberdeen’s best player. Brendan Rodgers though has been reluctant to deploy him in the midfield – yet was desperate to bring in John McGinn from Hibs.
You wouldn’t get many Aberdeen fans telling you they’d rather have McGinn than Christie if they had to choose one or the other.
But Rodgers has maybe through the circumstances and timing of Dembele’s departure – which left the Celtic manager with no time to bring in a suitable replacement – had a re-think and reckons he can utilise a bulked up Christie as a potent weapon in the Celtic attack.
His strong running and vision in the two substitute appearances against FK Suduva and the rather less impressive Rangers certainly earned him considerable praise from the supporters.
Christie sees this as his chance to shine at Celtic and he reckons he has the tools to do the job.
“The loan to Aberdeen did me the world of good,” he said.
“I’ve came back stronger and more developed as a football player. I feel ready now to push as a regular for Celtic.
“It doesn’t really matter where on the park I play. The main aim is I play for Celtic week in, week out.”
Christie is well aware of the pressure that is on the Celtic players every time they play, but that certainly doesn’t faze him – far from it.
“There’s a huge pressure at Celtic to win every week and there is that at Aberdeen too,” he noted.
“It’s something in football you have to get used to, especially as an attacking player. To create and score goals. Hopefully that’s something I can bring back to Celtic.”
And if you thought that he’ been busy in the gym when he came on against FK Suduva or the weaker opponents, Rangers, you’d be correct.
“When I first joined I was still young and when I went away to Aberdeen I was quite small in stature.
“It’s hard for me to notice it but since I’ve came back, people I’ve not seen in a whole year, see a difference in me.
“That’s always good to hear that gym work is paying off. It only benefitted my development going up there and it’s put me in a right good stead.
“I look back at photos when I first joined Celtic and I look like a wee boy in comparison to what I look like now. When I first joined Celtic I was 66.5 kilograms and now I’m about 73.5 so I’ve put on a right few kilograms which is good.
“We get our fat tested every day and I’ve managed to keep that down so hopefully it means that’s muscle that I’m putting on.
“The sports scientists at Celtic, and even when I was away with Aberdeen, are always on me every other week to make sure I’m still doing my gym programme. It’s benefiting me massively.”
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