PADDY ROBERTS wants to get back into action for Celtic starting on Saturday when the Ross County are the visitors to Celtic Park, signally the end of the dreaded International break. And the 21 year old winger, who has missed out on much of the season through injury, reckons he can step in and give some of the others in the side a rest.
James Forrest, for instance, as well as being on international duty, has played over 60 games for the Hoops this season. He was one game behind Kieran Tierney ahead of Celtic’s last match – the 0-0 draw at Motherwell, but the left back missed that game with a muscle strain which also ruled him out of the Scotland friendlies.
So Forrest is now up there with KT as the two players who have played the most competitive top league football across Europe this season.
Speaking to this week’s edition of The Celtic View, Paddy has suggested a solution which effectively means giving James a wee rest and instead play him! He doesn’t mention Forrest though, diplomatically mentioning the skipper Scott Brown and his best mate Kieran Tierney.
“Some of the lads coming back might need rested and that gives me a chance to start and get some more game-time in. We still have good training sessions here and then we can have the chance to go back home and see family before coming back again.
“You can be more refreshed. Going away with your respective country is always good, but at the same time it can be tiring with all the travel.
“Myself and some of the other boys are coming back from injuries now while others have played a huge number of games, so it’s good timing for the team.
“As the end of the season approaches a lot of the boys will be tired, especially boys like Kieran and Broony who have played an incredible number of games. They’ve played nearly every game this season. That can fatigue you a lot but credit to them and the staff here because they’re sharp and getting the job done each week.
“You train every day regardless, so it can be quite tiring on top of the really busy season that the boys have had. I’ll be fresh and with the game that’s just played, I feel like I can jump straight back into the action for our next game.”
We reported this morning on the Stuart Armstrong contract situation and Roberts too is another player who may not be at Celtic beyond the end of the season, so it would be good to enjoy his very special talents when we can, if there is to be a parting of the ways.
Roberts though was fully on board last time round to commit himself to a permanent Celtic contract and that only fell through due to a last minute change of plan at his parent club. It is pretty clear to most observers that Roberts won’t be breaking into the Manchester City side, so there will be another chance for Celtic to show their ambition this summer.
A price of around £10million would make Roberts the most expensive signing in the club’s history. But he is a special player, worth the money, no doubt about that! There is no reason to believe that the player has had a change of heart about committing his future to Celtic.
