Arne Engels has revealed his frustration over his lack of minutes at the start of the season and his determination to work his way back into the starting lineup.
The midfielder arrived from Augsburg in August 2024 for a club-record fee of £11m.
He was a regular in his debut season in Scottish football, making 52 appearances and helping guide the Hoops to the Champions League play-off round.
At the beginning of this season, though, Engels was in and out of the team, coming off the bench in both Kairat Almaty games and the opening two league matches.
He has recently spoke about his disappointment at not being trusted to play from the first whistle, as well as having honest discussions with former boss Brendan Rodgers before his resignation from the club in October.
From the National, he said:
“It’s always frustrating as a player to be on the bench.
“If you don’t really get a big chance to be back in the team and to show what you actually can contribute to the team, then it’s always frustrating.”
“Obviously, you go and ask (the manager) why you’re not playing. If you played a lot of important games last season, then you’re going to go up to the manager and ask for the reasons.
“We spoke about it, and we had really good chats. He gave his clear opinion, and it was up to me to just get on with it and work hard for myself and work hard for the team.
“It was just about small details. Every manager has their own way of thinking and their own way of putting the players on the pitch. Sometimes you’re not in that plan, and then you need to deal with it and just work hard to become part of that plan. That’s what I did.
“I worked really hard behind the scenes, and I also got my opportunities.”
The 22-year-old has since started in eight of the last nine games, scoring in Martin O’Neill’s penultimate game in charge in a 2-1 win over Hibs in the capital. Engels scored a brilliant header, but was injured in the process after the opponent’s boot hit his face.
It’s not a bad sign when a player speaks openly about a lack of minutes, especially when doing it in the manner that the Belgian international has. He’s shown hunger to want to help his team perform as best as they can.
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