RYAN CHRISTIE could not hide his delight when he spoke to Celtic TV after yesterday’s stunning second half performance from the Betfred Cup holders – inspired by the former Inverness Caley star – that saw Celtic score three and create so many great chances. It was a sparkling 45 minutes of football from the Scottish Champions and Craig Levein’s side were swept aside as Celtic booked their place in December’s Cup Final.
Here’s some of what the 23 year old midfielder had to say to Celtic TV after his Man of the Match performance.
“I always have it in my head that if you come off the bench, you need to make as big an impact as possible if you want to work your way into the team.
“Ollie had to come off at half-time, which was a shame because he was playing well. I need to be ready when called upon so I’m happy I could come on in the second half and make an impact.
“With the first shot, I was trying to do what I did with the second but it didn’t come off! I’m hoping to play more of a part now going on in the season. It’s up to me to keep my levels high and hopefully when called upon, I can produce again.”
And Christie reckons that Celtic are getting back to their attacking best and he noted the outstanding performances from his team-mates yesterday.
“Scott Sinclair was brilliant when he came on and he had a huge part to play.
“We found our attacking rhythm in the second half. Our wingers, James and Scott were fantastic in the second half.
“That makes the midfielders’ job easier with us just having to feed them in. We’re delighted with the second-half performance and it’s great to have another cup final as well.
“Odsonne never got his goal today but going forward and some of his link-up play was brilliant. It’s easy for the likes of me to come in behind and keep feeding him in.
“The number of chances we created and the goals we scored showed our attacking threat. There was a lot of talk about us missing that at the start of the season, but it’s fair to say we’ve got that back. We’ve found our rhythm and hopefully we can keep on top of that in the games to come.”
Brendan Rodgers has revealed that the club are in discussion with Christie’s advisors regarding a new contract. His current deal expires in the summer and there is a now a clear willingness on both sides to get a new deal sorted.
Christie was asked what Brendan Rodgers thought of his second half showing and if it could lead to a regular place in the starting eleven: “He was pleased. I’ve just been trying to get that goal and hopefully I can push on from here.
“It’s what I’m looking to do, to make an impact when I get my chance.
“Looking forward, I’ve come to the realisation that I just need to take it game by game and do as well as I can every time I get a chance and see where it takes me.
“Obviously, I still feel I’ve got plenty of impact to make at Celtic and that’s what I’ll looking to do.
“It is hard to come in when you haven’t been playing, but that is the pressure you need to deal with. You need to step up to that challenge and show everybody that when you get a rare chance you have to grab it with both hands.
“That is what I am looking to do from now until the end of the season.”
Christie could of course end up playing in the final against the Dons players that he knows so well from his season and a half on loan at Aberdeen.
There has been some chat from Hearts supporters claiming that the penalty that Christie won yesterday was somehow soft.
“It was a stonewall penalty,” Christie stated. “I have just heard that there is a bit of back and forth about it. As far as I’m concerned I had it, I thought I had taken the ball by him and I am trying to stay up. I felt him and it was enough to put me off balance.
“Willie Collum was standing three yards away so it was hard for him not to give the decision.
“I saw a clip of it again. There was definitely contact. It is easy when you slow things right down to say it is minimal, but there was enough contact to force me to fall over. I don’t think there was any argument for me.”
Also on The Celtic Star and clicking on these links helps this site enormously…
Murrayfield Video: ‘A Disappointing Defeat,’ This is how it feels to be Hearts…See HERE.
‘Natural Order Restored at Murrayfield,’ Karma on Celtic Fans TV…See HERE.
‘Blue Monday for some after a truly Beautiful Sunday,’ David Potter’s day at Murrayfield…See HERE
‘He is a fantastic player, definitely one we’d love to keep,’ Rodgers on Ryan…See HERE.
Jim Craig – Bobby Lennox wins the League Cup for Celtic…See HERE
Sheep shock Steven Gerrard as Rangers are beaten at Hampden…See HERE
“Ryan Christie had a sensational individual performance,” Rodgers…See HERE
Broken Hearts as Celtic dish out Capital Punishment…See HERE.
