Auston Trusty is bringing his Champions League energy to Rugby Park’s artificial turf, if he’s fit enough to play.
He picked up an ankle knock on Tuesday night but played through the pain; however, it’s caught up with him as he missed training this week. Manager Brendan Rodgers hasn’t ruled him out for the fixture, though.
Despite the vast difference between a European night at Parkhead and a Scottish Premiership match on plastic, Trusty stresses that Celtic’s approach remains unchanged.
The American defender, who stood out in Celtic’s 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig, insists that the team’s preparation for league games mirrors that of their Champions League efforts—intense and focused.
Trusty, gearing up for his first match at Kilmarnock on the plastic, talked about the importance of maintaining high standards regardless of the venue or opponent.
He said [RecordSport]: “The gaffer and coaching staff don’t allow us to treat any game differently. We’ll prepare for a league match in the same way as a Champions League match – with the same intensity. At the end of the day, we’re a team who have to create our own environment. Some teams that we play (in Scotland) aren’t going to create the same environment of a Champions League night at top European level.
“So we have to bring it ourselves. We train with the same mentality and go into each game the same way. I’ve never played there (Kilmarnock) but I’ve played on astroturf before and football is football. With different pitches, you have to adjust.
“Everything will be new to me on Sunday, it’ll be a new experience. But for us, it’s all about mentality as a Celtic player. And that leads from the top. The gaffer won’t let us slip from that, which is good.”
Traditionally, Celtic don’t make it easy for themselves on plastic pitches, but in their last outing in Ayrshire last season, they blew the hosts away 5-0 to win the league.
It was a great all-round performance that night, with every player getting pass marks.
Adam Idah, arguably one of the best players on the pitch in April, starred in that match from the start – will he get the same opportunity today?
