Carl Starfelt netted his first goal for Celtic on Sunday and is relishing the competition for places at the club.
The Swede unfortunately missed out on all of Celtic’s pre-season due to a hamstring injury which he sustained while on international duty in June but has returned with a bang.
This handed other players a chance to impress but nobody could have foreseen the impact Stephen Welsh and Moritz Jenz made on the team.
Welsh opened the scoring for the season against Aberdeen while Jenz has scored in his first two starts for the Hoops.
Starfelt was not likely to get on the park on Sunday had Jenz not sustained an injury but he came on and managed to get his first goal on his 50th appearance for the club which was well received by everyone.
Ange Postecoglou looked delighted with the 27-year olds strike as he raised his arms into the air when the ball hit the back of the net.
He was an integral part of Celtic’s success last season and formed a formidable partnership with Cameron Carter-Vickers but knows that his place in the team is not guaranteed.
“I think the competition pushes all the players,” said Carl Starfelt speaking to the Daily Record.
“It’s not only the centre-back position. I feel we have competition now in almost every position. It’s about the small details. You also need to show every week in training that you want to play. It pushes everyone.
“We have one game a week just now, but soon it will become two games a week for a period of months. We will need a big squad. Like I said, there is very tough competition. There are really good options in defence. Welsh, Jenz and Cameron have all done very well when they have played.
“So I don’t think that anyone knows they are going to play every game. That’s how it should be. We push each other.”
This feeds into the point that the manager said post-match after the victory against Aberdeen on the opening day when asked about keeping players happy.
Adding to the squad is pushing individuals to get the best out of them and the culture at the club has got all the players buying into what the manager is asking from them which is creating a healthy environment.
Starfelt received high praise from his manager after the game and detailed what the past few months have been like.
“Obviously it’s always tough to be out and not be able to play.
“I’ve just been working very hard to get back. I felt like I was really ready to play when I came on and it was really nice to be back on the pitch. I’ve been training now for two weeks or something like that. So I felt ready to go and get back involved.”
It will be interesting to see what other games the Swede features in but for just now is focused on the team doing well and relishing his goal at the weekend.
“It was a very funny moment. You saw my celebration. I enjoyed it a lot even though it was a goal to make it 4-0.
“Maybe that wasn’t a normal 4-0 celebration! But it was my first goal for the club, so it means something extra to me. It was great to have all the players celebrate with me. We have been speaking about it a little bit in the locker room, so it was nice to see that all the other players also got excited.
“Obviously, it was nice for me to get my first minutes back after the injury and the goal was also important. The supporters, as always, were absolutely amazing. It was a nice moment. I will remember that one.”
This was yet another goal from a corner which Celtic scored which the team has now managed in all three fixtures this season either from the first or second rotation.
“It’s important. It’s not a huge deal who scores, but if you can get some extra goals from set-pieces or other situations, it’s a bonus. Last year, we actually scored a lot from set-pieces and this year we have scored from set-pieces every game. Now we have to continue with that.”
Starfelt will likely play an important part this season and it was great to see him return to the action.
