1 week Ago By [email protected] (Alan Galindo)
Auston Trusty has revealed the 'loved or hated' Glasgow fishbowl lesson he has learned as he opened up on his move to Celtic. Brendan Rodgers snapped up the defender for £6million in the summer and he's started to show his best form for the champions both domestically and in the Champions League alongside USA team-mate Cameron Carter-Vickers. He's also starred along Liam Scales for the champions as he hailed the welcome he has received from the Hoops faithful, who he describes as 'super passionate'.
Trusty admits the Celtic bubble is something he has never experienced with his time at Arsenal the closest thing he can draw comparisons with. However, with so many teams in London and Rangers and the Hoops the big two in Glasgow, he has picked up on the lesson very quickly that there is a high possibility you are either in the good books or bad books - depending on your side. He told Goal.
com : "It's a whole different realm, and the closest thing I can compare it to is Arsenal, but think about Arsenal. We're in London, so there are so many different teams. In Glasgow, it's a big city, not as big as London, but it's a big city.
There are only two teams, so there's a good chance that they hate you or a good chance that they love you. "The welcome was amazing. Everyone there is super, super passionate, and I think they could see from the start the value that I could bring to the team, so I think that they were excited as well.
I try to play every game and be that person for this team, for Celtic and for fans look up to me and to support me, and little kids who aspire to be professional athlete to look up to me. I think the fans can see that hopefully and respect that. "They've got behind me, so it's been really, really nice.
Here and Birmingham City have been the best in terms of getting behind me to make me feel at home." Asked if he can go out and about in Glasgow or he is now at a stage he could be recognised by rival fans, he added: "They are everywhere, but different parts of the city, and obviously downtown, it's a little bit more hectic. I'm still new, so I imagine Callum McGregor, when he walks around, he's a legend! I'm still new and, with [USMNT duty] and games and Champions League, I haven't had too much time to walk around.
" Meanwhile, Neil Lennon was the man who took Greg Taylor to Parkhead and ever since his arrival in Glasgow, he has come on leaps and bounds to be the main man at left-back. He's been in the team under Ange Postecoglou and Rodgers and took on a position that was vacated by diehard and fans' favourite Kieran Tierney like a duck to water. His contract is up in the summer with no fresh agreement in place.
Although Rodgers has made it clear he wants his future to be in Glasgow's east end. Lennon - currently out of work after a short stint in Romania - would be loath to see the defender leave Celtic on a free, but he is in no doubt he could star in England's top flight. A host of former Hoops stars have made the move south and made an impact and the left-back is another who could join that ever-growing list.
He told OLBG: “Greg Taylor has been such a consistent performer for Celtic domestically and in Europe when you consider the money that they paid for him. He is a really good footballer and really good defender. I think he's surprised a lot of people.
He's just improved and improved year in, year out. I understand why Brendan wants him to stay because left backs are hard to find and he's a really consistent performer." He continued: “I would be loathed to see him leave Celtic and he looks really happy there, but Greg Taylor could play in the Premier League, I’m pretty sure of it.
Look at the likes of Ryan Christie, Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer who have gone down there and made an impact, which Matt O’Riley will continue doing after his impact against Manchester City. Taylor would have no issues playing at Premier League level.” Elsewhere, Kyogo Furuhashi admits he's determined to show Japan what they've been missing when he makes his international return.
And he believes he can unlock defensive opponents Indonesia - because he's used to playing against teams with a similar approach at Celtic. Kyogo has not played for his country for 13 months now, but won an international recall for Japan's World Cup away double-header against Indonesia and China. And he reckons he knows what to expect if he lines up for Japan and wins his 22nd cap in Jakarta.
He said: "I am very happy to be returning to the national team and I want to make my mark again. Against a team like Indonesia,I think the game will suit me because I am used to playing against teams like this with Celtic, "They will eventually lose concentration and it's up to me to use my attacking movement to take advantage of it. At my club, the opponents really mark me closely, but I can use that to my advantage by receiving the ball at my feet and using my teammates around me.
"For me personally, I still have a lot to improve on in terms of the number of goals I score for Celtic. And the national team have been in really good form. "Of course, I have been watching them closely and I have been waiting for this day for a long time, so that's why, if I get the chance to play, I'd like to perform the kind of football that the manager wants us to play and I want to show my strengths.
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