PERFECT 10
I had the will to win and a desire, but the way we have won has been unbelievable. Celtic are special
THE judges’ results are in. Or at least those of the one judge who matters most. Asked to give a mark out of ten for his loan spell at Celtic, Patrick Roberts sought to rewrite the scorecard.
‘Probably more than ten — the highest you could give,’ he declared. ‘I don’t know, it has just been a great season.
‘It has been unbelievable, enjoyable. We have been playing brilliant football, so I would give this season the highest mark possible.
‘It has exceeded all my expectations. Coming here, I had the will to win and a desire, but the way we’ve won this season has been unbelievable.
‘That’s all thanks to the manager and all the players. We have been working hard this season and we have been getting the rewards.’
Roberts arrived at Parkhead for the final few months of Ronny Deila’s tenure in 2016. However, it is the Norwegian’s successor who has created the young Englishman’s exemplary opinion of Celtic.
Although not always in the starting line-up, Roberts has been involved in 42 games under Brendan Rodgers’ management.
The football produced has combined attacking expression with tactical discipline under a constant expectation of winning. And it has clearly accelerated the 20-year-old’s development.
‘With the way we play, my game has come on more this year, technically and tactically,’ insisted Roberts.
‘That’s important. In football, you need that. The will to win, the desire to win every single game is important, even if you go to places that are tough and you know the opposition will just sit in.
‘It is about finding a way to break them down. I think that’s something you need to learn at a young age. Winning every game is crucial and I have that winning mentality, which I can take into any team that I play in.’
His hope is that could yet be Manchester City. Signed from Fulham in a £12million deal in the summer of 2015, Roberts will return south for pre-season training under Pep Guardiola.
He clearly owes it to himself to make an attempt to break into one of the most expensively assembled squads in world football.
Those close to the player suggest, however, that simply calling himself a City player while getting the odd spot on the subs’ bench would not bring satisfaction.
His time in Glasgow has created a hunger for first-team football that is not about to disappear.
Should it be deemed that his future lies away from the Etihad, a permanent return to Celtic — while undoubtedly an expensive option for the Scottish champions — is not impossible.
Speaking at the club’s recent in-house awards dinner, Rodgers admitted he would love to have Roberts back next season.
‘The manager has been great with me and all the boys,’ said the winger, who has also been nominated for PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year.
‘He has brought me on a lot this season, on and off the pitch. We will see what happens. Who knows? I signed for City two years ago and my aim was to play for them. I had no idea I was going to come here.
‘This was a learning curve and an experience I had to take on as a young player. I feel I have taken it on fully.
‘City is a massive club as well, and when I go down there, I need to be confident and believe in my ability and see where it takes me.
‘I am still young and I am still learning the game.
‘Of course, I am a Manchester City player and we will see what happens at the end of the season. For now, though, I am enjoying my football.
‘It could turn out good, it could turn out bad. I will go back to City and do pre-season. Then we will see what happens from there.’
Supporters attending last weekend’s awards bash even pretended to have a whip round to try to raise cash to keep Roberts at Parkhead.
‘That was kind of embarrassing,’ he said with a smile. ‘No, it was nice for me to know that the Celtic fans have taken to me and that everyone supports me 100 per cent.
‘It is all I could have asked for when I came up here and Celtic will always have a piece of my heart no matter what happens.’
Roberts received another boost last night when it was confirmed he will now be able to feature in the Scottish Cup Final against Aberdeen on May 27.
That Hampden date could be another highlight this season for the young winger, who has already amassed numerous memories to treasure during his time at Celtic.
Chief among them is last weekend’s 5-1 rout of Rangers at Ibrox.
‘I don’t think any of the (Celtic) players have been involved in a better team performance,’ said Roberts ahead of today’s meeting with St Johnstone at Parkhead.
‘It was a phenomenal performance. Of course, we want to score as many goals as we possibly can and we will always push on to do that.
‘The manager has instilled it in us to keep going and you saw that with Mikael (Lustig) scoring our fifth goal near the end of our game against Rangers. ‘Our right-back was up the pitch going past players and putting his shot into the bottom corner of the net. ‘That showed we had the will to score more goals. ‘The win over Rangers was a big moment for me. I have scored against Manchester City (in the Champions League 1-1 draw at the Etihad in December) and we have won the League Cup (beating Aberdeen 3-0 in the final last November), but the game at Ibrox last weekend was special for all of us.’ He added: ‘We showed our dominance and showed everyone how we are capable of playing. It was huge for us.’