killen will be ready for big kick-off

David Friel
CELTIC striker Chris Killen modelled the club’s new away kit for the first time this afternoon and admitted he hopes to parade the Nike strip on the pitch over the coming weeks.

The New Zealand internationalist, a close-season signing from Hibernian, has reported back early for pre-season training in a bid to complete his rehabilitation from an achilles injury.

That ailment will prevent him from featuring in Celtic’s pre-season games against BSC Young Boys and FC Basel in Switzerland next week, but Killen is confident that he will be ready for action by mid-July.

“The strip feels great and I’m enjoying it here,” smiled Killen, as he showed off the club’s new all-green away kit.

“I’ve been in at the stadium training for the last few weeks and even though the rest of the boys are still on their break, I’m getting a feel of the place.

“I’m still getting over my injury, so I’m in rehab at the moment. It’s coming along well. I’ve been running on it quite solid for the last few weeks and it feels good.

“I’m looking at another couple of weeks before I’m back to full fitness. I should be going to Switzerland and, while I won’t be playing in the games, I’ll still be training and doing everything.”

In an ideal world, Killen would be fully fit from the off as he enters an exciting new chapter in his career. However, the 25-year-old isn’t dwelling on the current situation.

“It’s not really a worry,” he said. “I need to get my injury sorted out and get myself fit, before worrying about playing. It would be nice to come in straight away and start playing, but that’s not the case right now.

“The physio will keep an eye on me for a few weeks and then just see how we get on. I need to get over this and worry about other things later.

With the recent signings of Killen and Scott McDonald, Celtic manager Gordon Strachan currently has a number of attacking options available to him, but the New Zealander is relishing the challenge of trying to nail down a starting place.

“Competition is great,” he said. “Coming to a big club, I understand that there is going to be a lot of competition for not a lot of jerseys.

“It’s something I’m looking forward to. If I don’t have the jersey to begin with, I’ll be doing everything to get it.

“It’s hard to say what will happen, but I haven’t come here to play second fiddle and I’ll be working hard to get myself on that pitch. At the end of the day, it’s the manager’s decision but I’ll be doing everything to make it hard for him to leave me out.”

Killen also dismissed suggestions that Celtic will have it all their own way as they chase a third consecutive SPL title.

“It’s going to be a tough season and everyone knows that,” he added: “But we’re just concerned with what’s going at Celtic – we don’t pay too much attention to the other clubs.

“Everyone says it’s all about Celtic and Rangers, but I’m sure the other clubs will have a say. Last season, when I was at Hibs, we beat Rangers twice and gave Celtic a good game every time we played them.

“Over the course of the season, it’s a lot harder for the smaller clubs, because of their budget, but they do tend to raise their game against Celtic. It will be tough.”

To order the new Celtic away kit go to www.celticsuperstore.co.uk