“Winning is the only way,” Auston Trusty on Celtic culture

Auston Trusty has revealed the winning mentality that has be instilled in him since joining Celtic…

Callum McGregor celebrates with Auston Trusty. Celtic v Kilmarnock, Scottish Premiership Celtic Park, 9 November 2025. Photo Mark Runnacles IMAGO /Shutterstock

Trusty joined the Hoops in August 2024 and soon discovered firsthand why the club holds such a unique place in football. After returning from injury, the centre-back found himself sidelined by Brendan Rodgers, but he has since become an important figure in the side’s mini-resurgence under interim manager Martin O’Neill.

A little more than a year after arriving from Sheffield United, the USA international has been reflecting on what he learned about the club once he became part of it. Trusty explains that Celtic’s deep-rooted winning mentality continually pushes expectations higher and demands that players maintain full intensity at all times.

Sponsor’s Man of the Match Auston Trusty. Celtic v theRangers. Premier Sports Cup, semi final at Hampden. 2 November 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Speaking on Call It What You Want show the Hoops centre-back said: “I think the reason Celtic is so good is the culture they’ve built, where winning is the only way.

“This should be anywhere in sports, but [at Celtic]there’s no such thing as losing. You can’t accept losing. So you have to be in this kind of kind of frequency, where the frequency is so high all tie time.

“Sometimes, maybe for your family it’s not the best, because you come home with that same kind of frequency, and it’s kind of hard to shut off, because you got three games a week.”

Trusty added: “So I think once you get used to staying at that same kind of frequency, if you’re able to maintain that, you train like you play.

The boot of Auston Trusty of Celtic catches Jack Butland of theRangers in the head, leading to a yellow card during the Premier Sports Cup Semi Final match between Celtic and theRangers at Hampden Park on November 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“We train, and it’s up there. So we kind of have to maintain the level. Obviously playing Champions League is not the same as playing domestic Scottish league, but we have to maintain the same thing. Because you play a Scottish game, then you’ve got to play a Champions League game two days later,” he continued.

“You have to be at the level, because you don’t want to get embarrassed. You want to perform and represent the club in the right way, and represent yourself in the right way.”

Watch Auston Trusty’s interview on the Call It What You Want Show below…

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