Stephen Welsh isn’t lying on a beach as would normally be the case for footballers at this time of year, certainly the ones not involved in tournaments like the European Championships. He did play for Scotland Under 21s in a friendly against Northern Ireland earlier this month, as you’ll notice from a few of our photos.
Celtic had organised a fan media conference for today to discuss the Champions League draw which saw Celtic start the incredibly challenging task of group stage qualification with a tie against Erik Sviatchenko’s FC Midtjylland, with the first leg being at Celtic Park on July 20/21 and the second leg a week later in Denmark.
Incidentally Celtic have confirmed that the home leg of this UCL second qualifying round tie is part of the 2021/22 season ticket, either in person or virtually via the Pass to Paradise.
Anyway a few of The Bhoys involved in fan media circles were speculating who might be the mystery player that Celtic could produce today and we’d narrowed it down to either Scott Bain, or Stephen Welsh and it was indeed the latter who came in from his break to speak to both sides of the media – fans and mainstream.
We asked the breakthrough defender if he’d spoken to the new manager Ange Postecoglou yet (he hadn’t) and whether success in these Champions League qualifiers would allow the squad to pick up the pieces after a dreadfully disappointing season and set themselves on the road to redemption with the Celtic support.
Welsh answered those questions and indicated that Celtic needed a team of leaders on the park next season, not just the captain (he didn’t name Callum McGregor as the successor to Scott Brown), but indicated a need for good characters and good players. the 21 year old also noted that Postecoglou has already talked up utilising the Academy players in the first team and that is something that will provide encouragement for the younger players at the club.
Listen to Stephen Welsh speaking to the Celtic fans media today…
And here are some of Stephen Welsh’s quotes from the Mainstream Media conference, held shortly after Celtic were drawn against FC Midtjylland in the Champions League qualifier.
“It’s going to be a tough draw. It’s the Champions League, so we know every game is going to be hard. Now that the draw’s been made, we’re looking forward to the games.
“They’re a good side and it’s going to be a tough game against them. Anyone who’s in the Champions League qualifiers will be a quality side. We’ll be going into it with high hopes and, hopefully, we can get a result out of that.
‘There’s still a long way to go until then so it’s about getting the fitness up and getting through the pre-season games unscathed.’
On the appointment of Ange Postecoglou as the New Celtic manager: “I’m very excited that he’s coming,” said Welsh. “I’ve not spoken to him yet but I’ll be looking forward to meeting him, chatting to him and working under him.
“He plays good attacking football and we’re looking forward to it. It’s a fresh start for everyone. It’s a new manager to impress and, come the Champions League qualifier, I’m sure we’ll all be fighting for our place.
“It’s all about getting another chance and trying to prove you’re good enough to be here. I’m sure everyone will be doing that, especially when the younger boys have heard what he’s been saying.
“We’re all raring to go to get back into pre-season, work hard under him and playing good football under him. I’m personally really looking forward to it.”
You can listen to mainstream media conference here for comparison….
