Former Celtic youngster Lee O’Connor has opened up on his decision to leave the club in the January transfer window and join loan side Tranmere Rovers on a permanent basis.
The Ireland under-21 internationalist joined the Hoops during the first season of Neil Lennon’s second tenure as Celtic boss from English Premier League giants Manchester United.
With O’Connor coming from a huge club such as Manchester United and how highly rated he is in his homeland, there was a lot of expectations about what he could bring to the club in the future.
However, it didn’t really work out for the full-back in the end, spending time on loan with Partick Thistle and two separate spells with English League Two side Tranmere Rovers – where he has since completed a move.
As quoted by the Irish Independent, O’Connor has opened up on why it was an easy decision to move on, having not made a competitive appearance since his arrival in 2019.
“It was pretty straightforward for me. I think I needed to do it for the good of my career. That’s what it came down to; that’s the only thing I was thinking about.
“From when I was making my decision, it just had to be what’s going to be the best thing for my career.
“I could have maybe waited until the summer, made my decision, but I just wanted to play. I just needed to play games.
“I thought at the age I’m at now (21), the thing I needed the most was to play games. That’s what it come down to, and that’s why I left. It was pretty much down to me.
“Once Tranmere said they wanted me, and I decided that’s where I wanted to go, it was pretty straightforward, and that was that. It’s a great club. It didn’t work out for me (at Celtic).”
Of course, with any player signing that is expected to have significant potential, supporters will be hoping to see them succeed by finding a place in the first team for years to come, but that just wasn’t to be for O’Connor.
This season was an ideal chance to break in, given the lack of options for Postecoglou in the summer. However, the Irishman was still moved on loan to Tranmere Rovers.
It is good to see he is enjoying his football once again, though, playing in a new midfield role whilst being part of the same side as Celtic loanee Ross Doohan.
