Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
CELTIC STINT FOR ROBERT
Diamonds boss:training spell a‘no-brainer’
Airdrie boss Ian Murray has revealed that Thomas Robert spent time on trial at Celtic over the last fortnight.
The 20 year-old has been a revelation since joining from Montpellier this summer and he’s also attracted Aberdeen’s interest.
Robert trained at Lennoxtown with Celtic’s first-team and Murray confirmed that it was a successful spell.
He said: “I can provide clarity on Thomas being in with Celtic and training with them.
“It’s brilliant for him personally and brilliant for the club because it shows that we are doing something right.
“It was a no-brainer to let him go on trial with Celtic. It was a chance for Thomas to showcase himself and train with top level players and coaches.
“He was in a top level training environment which is second to none. He was working with top players and for any footballer, it’s an exciting time to do that.
“It’s testament to Thomas, his teammates and the club because we are starting to build those connections.
“We are taking young players in and improving them which is our model. Thomas has grabbed lots of headlines and he’s a great asset to us.
“Thomas is now back with us, he’s been tested and trained with us on Monday. He’s adapted to everything that we’ve asked him to exceptionally well.”
Airdrie are committed to unearthing young talents and providing them a platform to impress in League One.
Murray added: “We’re not going to stand in players’ way or beg them to stay. We’ll always be honest, give them the chance to play but they have to take it.
“We’ve done really well in that aspect but the hard thing is finding the next one.”
The Diamonds returned to training this weekend after receiving the green light to return from the Scottish Government.
The League One season is set to recommence on March 20 and boss Murray can’t wait to get started.
He said: “It was brilliant to get back. It was great to see everybody and the players looked fresh.
“The staff are excited and it wasn’t quite a pre-season feeling because there was much more determination.
“The boys have been working hard individually but there’s nothing better than sitting down face to face. We are in a very unique situation because we’ve got a stadium that we can use 24/7.”