ARMSTRONG WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A STAR FOR CELTIC
SAYS JACKIE McNAMARA
JACKIE McNAMARA always knew Stuart Armstrong had both the talent and mentality to make it at Celtic and now he is backing his former Dundee United midfielder to emulate his own achievements by becoming a Treble winner.
It was under McNamara that Armstrong developed into one of the country’s most exciting and dynamic midfielders and ultimately secured a £2million transfer from Tannadice two years ago.
Fuelled by adrenaline, he made an instant impression but his form gradually faded and the situation was not helped by Ronny Deila’s preference for starting him wide on the left.
After 18 months of, at best, treading water, the arrival of Brendan Rodgers gave Armstrong a firm lifeline. He grabbed it and has emerged as a key central player in the former Liverpool boss’s high-energy team.
With Premiership and League Cup winners’ medals already tucked away, Armstrong is now aiming for the Scottish Cup and, if successful in next weekend’s final against Aberdeen, will be part of the first Celtic team to claim a domestic clean sweep since 2001.
‘Having played a lot of games when he was younger, Stuart always had the potential,’ says McNamara. ‘He had everything in his locker but it’s the way you handle the day-to-day demands of having to win every week, regardless of who you’re up against.
‘Playing in front of that Celtic crowd, you’re expected to win. It didn’t help him that there was a lot of competition in that area of the pitch. Ronny played him out left because he preferred others in the middle of the park.’
Rodgers’ challenge to Armstrong was simple — prove you’re good enough and you will get a run in your preferred position.
The same has not proved true for the other United stars sold to Celtic on McNamara’s watch. Gary Mackay-Steven signed alongside his pal Armstrong midway through Deila’s first season and Nadir Cifcti followed six months later.
Just as Armstrong has answered questions over his mental strength, so McNamara believes MackaySteven could yet come good. However Ciftci, a big-game personality player at Tannadice, retreated into his shell at Celtic and has twice been loaned, first to Eskisehirspor in Turkey and most recently Polish club Pogon Szczecin. ‘I believed Ciftci had it in him too but he’s not handled it so well,’ admits McNamara. ‘MackaySteven has been unfortunate with injuries, though.’ Rodgers will become only the third manager in Celtic’s history to claim a Treble if he succeeds next week and McNamara admits the capture of all three trophies will be of far greater significance than the quest to complete the domestic season unbeaten. ‘Making history is more important than just winning a few more games at the end of the season,’ he continued. ‘That’s why teams often rest players in the build-up to a cup final.’ McNamara started as a substitute when O’Neill’s team beat Hibernian in the cup final 16 years ago, coming on early for the injured Lubo Moravcik to score and set up another as Celtic created history with a 3-0 victory.
‘Martin started Lubo in front of me, which I couldn’t believe!’ he joked. ‘We’d played Hibs a couple of weeks beforehand and, although I’d scored a couple in that game, he put me on the bench.
‘There was initial disappointment but I got the opportunity quite early. I enjoyed it, getting the first goal and then helping Henrik for the second. I cut the ball back and, although it wouldn’t have been a chance for anyone else, he curled it in with his left foot.’
McNamara had joined Celtic from Dunfermline in 1995 but it was after O’Neill’s arrival five years later that the trophies really started to stack up. McNamara sees some similarities between the two Northern Irish managers, not least in their ability to man manage.
‘Martin was very intelligent and could hold a room. He could make guys in the dressing room feel 10 feet tall,’ he said. ‘I’ve obviously not had that same experience with Brendan but he speaks well and you assume he must come across very well with his players too.
‘Apart from a couple of players in Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair, it’s the same group but others have been rejuvenated — Scott Brown has had a fantastic season and Armstrong’s a different player from last year, in his confidence and his goals return.
‘Brendan and his backroom team take a lot of credit for that. That’s the measure of a manager that makes players better.’