THE BAIN OF MY LIFE
Hoops keeper Scott admits taking more than one game at a time could spell big trouble for him
SCOTT BAIN cannot even contemplate his first ever European game – because he refuses to get into the mindset of playing more than one Celtic game at a time.
The 27-year-old has taken over Celtic’s gloves from Craig Gordon since the winter break on what appears to be permanent basis. But after being drip-fed into the Hoops team as their League Cup keeper since his official signing in the summer, the former Dundee No.1 prefers the tunnel vision of facing St Johnstone this afternoon before believing he will see Europa League action against Valencia on Thursday. He said: “Every time I’ve ever played here, I’ve taken it a game at a time. It’s the way I’ve been fed in to the team. “I played League Cup games so there was no choice but to take it one game at a time – and that’s stood me in pretty good stead. “I don’t really look at the way things are as No.1, No.2 or whatever. I just see it as, if I’ve got the opportunity to play, I make sure I’m ready. So I’ve not really thought about getting a game in Europe because St Johnstone on Sunday’s such a big game in the season for us in terms of trying to win another cup.
“Once I get that out the way I’ll have a wee think about what it’ll be like to play Valencia.”
Bain admits he is still learning from vastly-experienced Scotland squadmate Gordon.
He admitted: “Just watching him play, watching the concentration needed to be a Celtic goalkeeper is the main thing I’ve picked up. It’s hard.
“People probably think from the outside that being a keeper here is one of the easiest jobs in the game but I can tell you it isn’t. You can go through a game with nothing to do then get called on once – and if you make a mistake, the fans are there to get on you.“
There is a strong argument to say Bain’s work with the ball at his feet rather than with his hands is the main reason he’s finding favour with Brendan Rodgers.
He added: ‘You can’t let your mind drift. I always try and stay connected to the back four – you’ll see I try to play quite high up so I can be with them at all points.
“It’s a big part of our game. The boys make it really easy to play from the back because you know you can trust them to take the ball in a tight area.”
Figuring out a way past St Johnstone shouldn’t be too hard after two victories over them in the past 10 days and Bain laughed: “As long as we keep winning, I’m happy to play them all the time!”