Celtic’s Reo Hatate has admitted to both ‘emotional and physical fatigue’ when speaking to Japanese publication Sportiva, with the quotes kindly translated by Dan Orlowitz on social media. Always the go to guy for all things Celtic coming out of Japan. Where would we be without him?

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旗手怜央、初の海外組として参加した日本代表戦の大変さを振り返る。「ボールが二重に見えた」#Yahooニュース https://t.co/BcIJcCOnGE

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READ THIS…“I’m definitely feeling emotional and physical fatigue,” Reo Hatate

And it really is no wonder Celtic’s January signing is running on fumes. After all Celtic’s all action midfielder has completed nigh on a season and a half of competitive football between Japan and Scotland, and on top of that he’s now been capped by Japan with all the international travel that entails – and that’s before you get to the fact Hatate has had to settle into a new club, fresh culture and of course the not insignificant matter of a language barrier to boot.

The one thing that strikes about Hatate’s quotes is the honesty, yet underneath it all you can see Celtic have a player who has a real determination to succeed and one who believes his ambition of playing Champions League football against the top sides in Europe can be achieved at Celtic.

“Since my debut against Hibernian I’ve felt the intensity of the European game and played a number of games. The fact that I’ve kept getting appearances shows that the team trusts in me and that’s given me a lot of confidence.

“But for what feels like the first time, I’m definitely feeling emotional and physical fatigue. It’s been three months since I arrived in Glasgow and getting used to a new environment on and off the pitch has been trial and error. In Japan there were ways I could refresh myself and take a mental break but that’s difficult when you’re playing so frequently.

“There are times when can’t make a run on goal, or hold back on the attack to preserve the team’s balance, and I have to recognise my fatigue.”

“For the national team I had to go to Australia, then Japan, and back to Scotland. It was my first call-up as an overseas player and I was confronted with the difficulty of maintaining your condition while traveling and then immediately having to get results for your team.”

“When you’re away from your team on NT duty there’s a chance you can lose your position. My first day back at Celtic there was a moment that I saw two balls and was clearly jetlagged… but in Europe you need to be tough enough to stay fit and fight for your position.”

“So to start against (the)Rangers gave me a lot of confidence. It was huge to be able to help create the equaliser. On the match sheet I didn’t score a goal or record an assist, but it was huge that I was able to leave my mark on the team’s victory.”

“Daizen talked about how even though the team has been building on what it’s been doing, those of us who joined mid-season have added our own strength and helped push us into first place. I definitely feel tired but I want to keep doing whatever I can to help the team win the league, and I think I’ll become tougher and stronger as a result.”

You can certainly sympathise with Hatate’s position. Having hit the ground running with goals against Hearts and theRangers there have been times where those early heights haven’t quite been reached. Yet despite there being clear mitigating circumstances for any inconsistencies, Hatate certainly isn’t asking for sympathy.

One thing is absolutely certain if performances have been somewhat stop-start for Reo Hatate, much of that is down to the non-stop nature of his footballing career in the last 18 months. For now, Hatate will have to call on those reserves of physical and mental strength to get him through the next five games and help bring home the title for Celtic, but after a summer break few deserve more than Celtic’s Japanese contingent, Celtic will have a refreshed and firing Reo Hatate to head into next season. From there hopefully the Champions League dreams he targeted when he joined the Hoops can be realised.

For opposition defences in Scotland and Europe a refreshed and consistent Reo Hatate must be a frightening thought, for Celtic supporters it looks like we’ll see the best of our Japanese star next season and that’s a very exciting prospect indeed.

In the meantime surely Ange Postecoglou will take note of these frank and heart-felt comments from the player and this weekend give Hatate a rest ahead of the Rangers game the following week.

Niall J

*Translation has been kindly supplied for the Celtic support by Dan Orlowitz as reported earlier on The Celtic Star.