REO HATATE has published his latest diary entry for Sportiva, cited by Yahoo Japan.
The Celtic midfielder doesn’t hold back and gives a very truthful account of his time in Glasgow so far and the toll it’s taking on him physically.
The midfielder stepped onto the Celtic stage with a bang, goals against Hearts and The Rangers in his early games set him up nicely, but there’s been lull’s in Reo’s play at times.
Even during the 2-1 victory at Ibrox at the beginning of April, you could see Reo physically struggling to keep up with the play.
It’s little wonder when you take in to account the game time the Celtic star played in Japan before getting on a plane and continuing on with Celtic.
Ange has said before, we’ll likely not see the best of our Japanese bhoys until next season but they’ve made a top contribution already.
In his diary, Reo covers his debut, heading out on international duty, contributing in big games and why he chose Celtic.
The article was translated onto social media by journalist Dan Orlowitz.
Reo Hatate wrote: “Since my debut against Hibernian, I’ve felt the intensity of the European game and played a number of games. The fact that I’ve kept getting appearances shows that the team trusts in me and that’s given me a lot of confidence.
“But for what feels like the first time, I’m definitely feeling emotional and physical fatigue. It’s been three months since I arrived in Glasgow and getting used to a new environment on and off the pitch has been trial and error.”
“In Japan there were ways I could refresh myself and take a mental break but that’s difficult when you’re playing so frequently.
“There are times when can’t make a run on goal, or hold back on the attack to preserve the team’s balance, and I have to recognize my fatigue.
“For the national team I had to go to Australia, then Japan, and back to Scotland. It was my first call-up as an overseas player and I was confronted with the difficulty of maintaining your condition while traveling and then immediately having to get results for your team.”
“When you’re away from your team on NT duty there’s a chance you can lose your position. My first day back at Celtic there was a moment that I saw two balls and was clearly jetlagged… but in Europe you need to be tough enough to stay fit and fight for your position.”
“So to start against Rangers gave me a lot of confidence. It was huge to be able to help create the equalizer. On the match sheet I didn’t score a goal or record an assist, but it was huge that I was able to leave my mark on the team’s victory.”
“Daizen talked about how even though the team has been building on what it’s been doing, those of us who joined mid-season have added our own strength and helped push us into first place.”
“I definitely feel tired but I want to keep doing whatever I can to help the team win the league, and I think I’ll become tougher and stronger as a result.”
There are five games left this season and Reo will still want to do his bit to make sure Celtic see out their six point lead and hopefully bring home the league title.
The whole team have been playing high pressing football throughout the season and as we move towards the finish line, we need one final push by every single player to make sure they can make this a season to remember.
After that, a break and a good pre-season under everyone’s belts will do wonders for the whole side.
Fair enough being jet lagged after such long distance travels for Japan, though he gets a week between games to recover in the league, bar some light training! …tbf it must be a huge culture shift coming from Japan to here, the goldfish bowl that is Glasgow and Scottish football when playing for Celtic!
We know he’s a player, he just needs to forget his troubles for 90 minutes on the park, unleash and show it, and he’ll feel better for it in his day to day life between games!
A lot of us as supporters forget that Hatte and Maeda played a full season in Japan and came straight to Celtic and were flung right into the team hats off to them. One final push bhoys and the league is back home where it belongs HH