Valencia are 90 minutes from Scott’s thoughts
There is a huge European night at Celtic Park just four days away.
But Scott Bain insists his sights are set firmly on facing St Johnstone today – because he knows he isn’t cemented as the Hoops’ No. 1.
Bain has been an everpresent between the sticks for Celtic since the end of the winter break. He has yet to concede a goal, and left Craig Gordon on the sidelines. But the 27-year-old isn’t banking on a first Europa League start against Valencia because he knows he’s a Scottish Cup mistake away from losing his place.
“I’ve not really thought about getting a game in Europe yet because the game today is such a big one for us in terms of trying to win another cup,” he said.
“Once I get that out the way, I’ll have a wee think about what it will be like to play Valencia.
“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 first 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. If I’ve got the opportunity to play, I make sure I’m ready.
“It’s good to know that if my standard’s not high enough that Craig is waiting to come back in. That pushes you. “But I just go into games to enjoy them.
“I really liked the game the other night, the way Hibs came and played against us. It was fun to try to figure out how to play out from the back with two strikers pressing us.” Bain relishes the responsibility of looking after the ball with his feet, something demanded of Celtic keepers under Brendan Rodgers.
But having tried to do it in more testing circumstances with Dundee, he is grateful to be surrounded by defenders who are comfortable in possession.
“People probably think from the outside that being a goalkeeper here is one of the easiest jobs in the game, but I can tell you it isn’t,” Bain continued.
“The concentration levels needed are so high. “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. “You can’t let your mind drift. I always try to 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.
“And it’s a big part of our game.
“The boys here make it really easy to play from the back because you know you can trust them to take the ball in a tight area.”