Carl Starfelt spoke to the media yesterday to chat all things Celtic and his hopes for the business end of the league campaign. The Swedish defender has been an ever-present since he returned from injury earlier in the season virtually and is the preferred partner for USA international Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Ange Postecoglou has such faith in Carl that Moritz Jenz was sent back from his loan spell to parent club Lorient, where he was consequently sent back out on a loan move again, this time to Schalke in the Bundesliga. The big centre-back has been earning rave reviews over in Germany for the relegation-threatened side and it just goes to show how highly thought of Starfelt is within the walls of Lennoxtown.
Heading into the last few games of the fixture list before the split, the central defender is hopeful that the international break will help the club in their quest for more silverware. Carl stayed at Lennoxtown all of last week working on his fitness and is hoping it stands him in good stead for the trip to Dingwall and the Highlands to face ex-Celtic star, Malky MacKay and his Staggies side. He reckons the fixture will be physical as always, and that the opponents will set-up to be hard to break down.
It’s nothing new though as we’ve come to expect in Ange Postecoglou’s time in the Scottish Premiership, as home or away virtually guarantees every team will stick men behind their own 12-yard-box. The recurrent theme can become frustrating but the Sweden international has declared that we must not get drawn into playing County’s game, regardless of how frustrated we all might be. The same mantra has been repeated time and again by the manager; we must stick to our principles and have faith in the way in which we play the game.
It’s something that has served us well in the past and practically revolutionised the way in which we operate. Carl acknowledged that it’s a way that brings a demand to improve and that he also enjoys the demands placed upon him to develop and adapt every single day at Celtic. “I’m improving a lot which is really good,” said the 27-year-old. “If you want to become the best player you can be and get the best career possible you need to always keep improving.
He added: “I feel like in Celtic you really get the chance to do that, it’s a really good environment where you’re getting pushed every day to perform. The demands from the outside and the inside to always win games, it’s very developing. I feel like I’m developing, and I’m in a very good environment and club to do that, so I’m happy.”
Watch Carl’s media conference below…
Paul Gillespie
