STUART ARMSTRONG made his move to Southampton in the summer in a £7million switch.
The midfielder looked set to leave the club the season prior but couldn’t bring himself to do it at the time because of one man.
Brendan Rodgers.
Speaking about his move this summer, Armstrong explains his reasoning for staying at Celtic for an extra year.
“The time was right. The summer before, I had some thoughts about it, but I had had one season with Brendan Rodgers, and I wanted another.” the midfielder admitted.
It was last year Celtic fans seemed resigned to losing their invincible star with just a year left on his deal.
However, it confused many when he signed a new deal with just a one-year extension.
Many happy he was staying but miffed he didn’t commit to Celtic longterm.
For whatever reason, Armstrong just couldn’t hit the heights of his previous season for Celtic and only showed it in fits and bursts.
The Scot was an integral part of the Celtic side who won a domestic clean sweep without losing a single game but last year he looked laboured and sometimes disinterested. His reasons for leaving may give some insight into why he looked a bit fed up.
The double treble winner admitted he was bored of playing the same teams over and over again and the English fixture list excited him.
“Because I was Dundee United and then Celtic, it was eight years of playing the same teams over and over again. The fixture list (in England) excites me, going to these new places, new stadiums that you have watched on the TV and been to as a young boy. That’s exciting.”
The midfielder didn’t have to sign a new deal and could have left the club this summer for nothing but he did do us a favour in the end by signing the extension making sure Celtic got a healthy fee for his services.
