Turnbull says his award is won for Soro
David Turnbull believes midfield partner Ismaila Soro has played a big part in helping him cement a place in Celtic’s team.
Turnbull collected the Premiership Player of the Month award for December yesterday, after scoring three goals for Neil Lennon’s side.
He was also playing well in the Old Firm derby at Ibrox last week before being sacrificed when Nir Bitton was sent off.
Turnbull is pleased with his form after taking time to settle into life at Parkhead and credits quiet man Soro for that.
He said: “Since we changed to the diamond formation, it has worked really well for us.
“It’s good playing beside Soro. He’s intelligent and a great tackler.
“Everybody knows how good he is at winning the ball back and it’s great for me when he does that.
“When he gets it, he’s also very good at feeding it through to myself and the front boys.
“He’s a quiet character. He only speaks a wee bit of English but he laughs constantly, he’s always got a smile on his face.
“It must be tough for him away from football. Unlike the Scottish lads, he’s a long way from home.
“He’ll need to find things to keep him occupied away from the training ground but he comes in every day and enjoys it.
“I came into the team in early December and I’ve just tried not to look back since. I’ve played well, enjoyed my football and hopefully I continue that.
“I want to get more goals and create more chances for the team.
“I knew I would need to bide my time when I signed for Celtic. The job was to train as hard as I could, knowing my chance would come. Any sub appearances I got, I had to impress and if I did I was confident I’d eventually nail down a place in the team.”
Turnbull is adamant that Celtic’s controversial trip to Dubai last week has helped with fitness and team spirit after the 1-0 defeat at Ibrox.
With Lennon’s men 19 points behind in the title race, the midfielder now wants them to go on a lengthy winning run to keep the pressure on, starting with tomorrow’s visit of Hibs.
He said: “When we were away, everyone bonded. It was good for team spirit and helped the boys get to know each other better.
“We worked hard every day, training as hard as we could. There were extra, longer sessions where we worked on things we couldn’t do back here.
“It’s better doing it in the sun, of course, but it was hard work and it will definitely benefit us.
“It’s about going into every game now, playing the best we can and ticking off results.
“We played well in the first half at Ibrox, dominating the game until the big moment.”
If Turnbull can stay in Celtic’s first team to the end of the campaign and puts in the kind of performances he produced in December, Steve Clarke will take note.
With the Euro 2020 finals on the horizon, the 21-year-old wants to force a surprise inclusion.
Turnbull said: “I’m not looking too far ahead and I know that there are a lot of players who haven’t had the chance to play at a major tournament.
“But it’s a big incentive for every player who wants to be involved.”