Wednesday night marked the final start at Celtic Park for Scott Brown; however, the game also had added significance for Adam Montgomery, who made his first Celtic start in the 4-0 win over St Johnstone. The left-back started ahead of Greg Taylor for the game against the Scottish Cup Finalists as Celtic played their final game of the campaign.
As reported by The Scotsman, Montgomery was humble about his debut, despite his family being unable to witness this emotional occasion in person.
“I was honoured. We don’t know exactly what is going on right now with a new manager and so on, but being able to play before the end of the season was always a goal of mine, no matter who was in charge for next year. I’m delighted with that.
“It was an unforgettable experience for me and my family and I was honoured to play a part in the game – it was surreal to be part of Broony’s last home game. I was told the day before so I was just getting myself ready and prepared. My family just had to watch the game through the stream but with everything going that was fine by me.
“I feel like I have worked hard in training and deserved an opportunity. I was grateful to get that and hope I can kick on from here – I know I’m lucky. There are a lot of people at other clubs, not just at Celtic, that are struggling to play games right now. But with everything that’s going on in the world there are bigger things to focus on that football right now.”
The player has already admitted that he wants to emulate his hero, Kieran Tierney, and become a first pick at the club. With Diego Laxalt’s loan ending, Greg Taylor’s indifferent performances and Boli Bolingoli returning from loan, Montgomery will be able to stake a claim to become the club’s first pick left back.
The win over the Saints was also a first for one of Montgomery’s Lennoxtown teammates, Karamoko Dembele, the youngster netted his first goal for the club after starting a blistering counterattack. Dembele and Montgomery will be hoping that the new boss integrates them into the first team.
Montgomery signed a deal until 2025 and whilst Dembele has a year remaining, it is reassuring to see a young talent sign a deal when the club have been so poor at retaining stars, seeing teams like Bayern Munich and Manchester City luring them away.
