mcmanus: we have character of champions

David Friel
THE season is only four games old and already the prophets of doom are forecasting disaster for Celtic.

It must almost be enough to make Stephen McManus laugh. Having been part of the Celtic squad which has now won the league for the past three years, the captain knows what it takes to win a title - and it’s not done after just four games.

The drama of last season, when a Celtic side written off by many observers won their final seven league games to make it three-in-a-row, highlighted the folly of making rash predictions at any time of the campaign.


Speaking in this week’s Celtic View, McManus said: “We showed our character and resilience last year and we have to do that again. We’ve had a setback but we need to bounce back. That’s what we’ll be aiming to do.

“I think the manager is happy with the squad and so are the players. We have a lot of quality here and there are players fighting for places all over the side.

“It’s at moments like this when people show their true colours. We need to work together and move on from this.

“It’s a massive blow to lose the game but you’re never going to win the league in the first derby of the season. Don’t get me wrong, you want to win every one you play in, but it’s still early days. We’ll get better.

“The boys were all bitterly disappointed with how the game went but we need to stay strong. We’ve had a look at where things went wrong and we’ll learn from that.

“It’s a long season. We’ve played four matches of a 38-game campaign and there will be many more twists and turns. It’s never easy to take a defeat like that but we have to.

“There’s plenty of time to rectify what happened. We want to do as well as we can every week. It didn’t happen on Sunday but we need to move on and take it on the chin.”

With an enforced two-week sabbatical due to international fixtures, the Champions will have to wait until September 13 for their next SPL fixture – against Motherwell at Fir Park.

For McManus, that’s two weeks too long. He’d play that game today if he could. He wants to bounce back from the derby defeat as soon as possible.

“The break has probably come at a bad time,” he said. “I’d rather be playing straight away. I wish we had a game tonight, or even this weekend.

“With all of us away, the manager will get a chance to look at a few things and we’ll learn from it, but I know I’d rather be playing games.

“That’s not the case though. The bulk of the squad are away on international duty so we just have to be patient.

“It’s a hard game to come back to but that’s probably a good thing. Motherwell are a good side and will make it difficult for us, but we need to get back to winning ways as soon as possible.”

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