CELTIC’S Hatem Abd Elhamed has promised the Celtic support that the best is yet to come from him after injuries hampered his debut season in Glasgow. The former Hapoel Be’er Sheva defender joined Celtic last summer and impressed with confident displays. Elhamed proved himself to be a confident replacement for Mikael Lustig.
Elhamed was composed and assured in the 2-0 win at Ibrox in September, as well as impressing in the European games. It was in a famous European win for the Scottish Champions at the Stadio Olimpico as Celtic beat Lazio 2-1. Speaking to the Celtic website, Elhamed said that being injured in that game was frustrating, especially after another brilliant performance.
“Getting injured in the Lazio game was a frustrating moment for me, especially after a very good game. I was confident that I would keep going from there and continue to achieve my goal, but that injury stopped me for more than four months.
“The Lazio game was a special night, though, especially with the Celtic fans, over 10,000 of them, away in Rome, that was very exciting. To win the game with Olly’s goal in the 95th minute, it was very special. When that happens, you need to run and celebrate.
“I came back in for the St Mirren game before the football was postponed, and I wanted to keep playing and to keep getting more game time. But the coronavirus stopped everything. That wasn’t ideal but now I feel fit and I’m ready to go for this season.”
Elhamed won a penalty on his return, which was a welcome return with the game against Rangers the following week. However, as we all know, the Coronavirus pandemic took hold and the season was curtailed prematurely. The 29-year-old said that he was delighted to win the league and begin preparations for next year.
“I’m really happy to be back, to be back with my team-mates and to start pre-season training. And I’m also happy that we won the championship – we’re all happy about that and we are now looking forward to the season ahead.
“I was in Israel with my family when I heard we were crowned champions. It was a very special moment for me. With this type of achievement, you’d like to celebrate with your team-mates and with the fans, but the situation with the coronavirus has made things different. It was nice to instead celebrate it with my family, that was really good.
“It was great to win the league, and the League Cup, so to win two trophies with Celtic in my first season was great. I was obviously injured for some time in the season, which meant I missed out on a number of matches, but I’m happy to be have been part of things.”
Elhamed will face competition from Jeremie Frimpong for a starting position at right back; however, the fact that Elhamed can play at centre back stands him in good stead with Neil Lennon should the manager decide to deploy three at the back.
