Lewis vows to live up to the hype for Hoops
NEW Hoops signing Lewis Morgan came through his inaugural Celtic press conference with some aplomb but as soon as the photo shoot was finished, the winger was back to work.
The 21-year-old will pull on his boots for St Mirren’s game against Inverness this afternoon as he sees out the remainder of the campaign in Paisley.
However, despite the fact that there have been examples in the past of young players who have gone to Celtic and struggled to cope with the pressures of the club, Morgan has maintained that he wouldn’t have signed for Brendan Rodgers’ side if he did not believe he could make the grade.
“I’ve not really asked myself that question,” said Morgan. “I know I can.
“If I didn’t then I wouldn’t be joining the club. A lot of the responsibility falls on me. If I don’t make it then I’ll only have myself to blame.
“I know the club is massive and the players here are outstanding. You can see by how they have been dominating.
“I will have a fight on my hands to get in that team but I don’t doubt my ability to do it.
“I think I am inspired by being in the spotlight, maybe even subconsciously. I thrive on the big games. I like when pressure is on me.
“When I play in games where there’s less pressure then maybe I don’t perform quite as well. The spotlight will be on me a lot more now and I think it could spur me on that wee bit more.
“The manager has shown in the past the opportunities are there if you are doing well. There are young lads I know here who have been given their chance this season.
“If I can come in for pre-season and hit the ground running there’s no reason I can’t have a big future here.”
Morgan took a bit of stick in this week’s derby between Morton and St Mirren, a game in which he notched his 13th goal of the season.
And while he enjoyed the banter from the crowd, he has acknowledged it will be tenfold once he is playing in green and white.
“I loved all that to be honest, it was brilliant,” he smiled. “Obviously when I scored I tried to give a wee bit back.
“Listen, I think you’re going to get that wherever you go in football.
“I tend just to take it with a wee pinch of salt and have a laugh with it.”
Morgan also insisted that Rodgers was a big part in the reason why he opted to head to Celtic.
“Coming to work with a manager like Celtic have was a key factor,” he said. “He is incredible and I’m looking forward to working with him and his backroom staff.
“You look at his portfolio. He’s developed lots of young players who are similar to me. He had a few local lads at Liverpool and it was the same at Swansea.
“He likes to nurture local talent and that was one of the key things for me.”