CELTIC recalled Stephen Welsh from Moron and it was their manager who gave us an isight into the reasons behind that decision. As is ofter the case communication from Celtic was disappointing.
Had Celtic explained that Welsh had been monitored in his games in the Championship, impressed and was coming back to do his bit for the second half of the season, the support wouldn’t have been so concerned on Friday night waiting in vain for the club to make a late move for Filip Benkovic, who instead joined Bristol City on loan from Leicester City until the end of the season.
We pointed out on Saturday morning that if Neil Lennon wanted to play his now referred 3-5-2 at Hamilton he’d have to play Stephen Welsh – the Academy defender re-called from Morton – or he’d have to revert to using a back four due to his shortage in central defence.
Christopher Jullien, Kristoffer Ajer and Welsh were the three central defenders available and all started. Jullien lost his man at the Hamilton goal but put Celtic in-front after Odsonne Edouard had levelled the scores, Ajer was lucky that he had Fraser Forster to save his blushes early in the game and Welsh had an assured debut that he can be proud of.
Jullien has been speaking to the official Celtic site about the debut Bhoy and also his own eventual Sunday afternoon in Lanarkshire.
“Stephen was great,” the big Frenchman said. “That was his first game and I’m just delighted for him. I was impressed with him, he did a really good job in a tough game and that shows the character he has.
“The most important thing I said to him before the game was that we had to speak to each other. I tried to speak a lot to him and he was speaking to me which is great. He’s not shy on the pitch and I can’t wait to see what’s next for him.”
On the match as a whole, Jullien recognises that it was anything but easy for Celtic but in the end, the team’s will to win and quality shone through to win the points with a comfortable, if perhaps somewhat flattering scoreline of 4-1.
“It was a tough game,” Jullien admitted. “That goal was really welcomed by the team so I’m really happy with the goal.
“I was initially going back but when I saw the throw-in I decided to stay up. The ball from Ryan was perfect and I just had to finish it.
“I just have to do my best for the team. Ryan and the other players have given me great assists and I really hope it’s not going to stop. Anytime I can help the team and make the club proud then I want to do it. I’m just delighted to help the team.
“The most difficult part in football is to score goals so I’m just happy to score.
“Scoring isn’t my first priority on the pitch, my first target is to keep a clean sheet. I was mad about the goal we conceded because that was my man who scored. It’s just a bonus to score and I’m really happy.”
The Unique Angle footage from Celtic TV is a joy to watch today, check it out HERE and catch up with what Scott Brown was saying about just how significant a win he reckons yesterday was for Celtic.
— Stephen Welsh (@stephen_welsh17) February 2, 2020
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