Celtic midfielder Arne Engels revealed the confidence he has going into a huge week for the Hoops.
Engels bounced back from criticism with a goal and a Man of the Match award against Motherwell in a 4-0 win at Celtic Park this afternoon.
With Celtic back in training tomorrow ahead of St Johnstone on Sunday at Celtic Park and Rangers at Ibrox in a week’s time, the Belgian is thriving in what will be a great opportunity to show his value, having joined in the summer from Augsburg for a club-record transfer fee.
He said: (Celtic TV), “I think everybody’s training on it, and everybody can take a penalty. I’m lucky that I’m the one who can take it first, but everybody’s really good in training. It’s always nice to grab a goal like this.
“It’s really important to get a goal, especially at the end of the first half. You come into the second half with a bit more confidence because you know you’re 1-0 up, and you’re a bit freer in your mind knowing you’ve already scored.
“Then you see that we create a lot of chances and defend really well because I think they didn’t have a shot on target, so it’s really well done from the whole team.
“It’s coming quickly, and we know tomorrow we are back in for recovery, and then we go again at the weekend. So that’s all we do; that’s what we’re good at, so it’s nothing special for us. We know what to do.”
After what has been a stop-start six weeks for the Belgian, he has fought back in style.
Although he wasn’t entirely impressive against Rangers at Hampden, he did pick up an assist and has shown what he brings to the midfield.
Engels has the confidence that is needed at the heart of midfield, with his delivery from corners and ability to score from the penalty spot adding a new dimension to Celtic.
He is far from the finished article as a player; however, at 21 years old, he has a maturity beyond his years.
Taking each game as it comes, with a return to training tomorrow, he is more than aware that if his standards drop over the coming days in training, he won’t start on Sunday.
That is exactly the mentality that Brendan Rodgers has instilled in this group of players, who are level-headed and constantly striving to improve, even after what was a sensational second half display this afternoon against Motherwell.
