On-loan Celts kid Conor vows to play it cool to get stuttering Jags back on track
PARTICK TH v FALKRIK BY EUAN McLEAN and GORDON PARKS
CONOR HAZARD has been drilled in the art of keeping your cool at Celtic.
So he insists there’s no panic about Partick Thistle’s rock-bottom situation as he prepares for a basement battle with the Falkirk side he helped keep up last season.
The 20-year-old has just joined Jags on loan from the Hoops, among a flurry of new faces brought in to bolster a squad low on confidence.
It’s a similar situation to the deep end he found himself thrown into this time last year when Bairns were flagging in the Championship.
But Hazard’s contribution, seven wins and two draws in 12 appearances, including four clean sheets, helped Falkirk steer clear of the relegation play-off spot – and won him his first senior international cap for Northern Ireland.
Hazard said: “Falkirk’s a really good club and I enjoyed my time there. To end my season there with a first cap was brilliant.
“I absolutely loved it at Falkirk and it gave me great belief going back to Celtic in the summer.
“I was desperate to get out again for more experience to show how much I’ve improved and I’m very thankful to Thistle for giving me that chance.
“It’s not been the best of seasons for the club so far but we’re hoping to change that. We have six months left and it’s important to make things right.
“For as long as I’m here I’ll look to get as many clean sheets as possible. I’ll also look to bring some of the Celtic atmosphere to the club.
“At Celtic you’re trained to be calm and collected in every situation. It will be the same for me here and I’ll try to have an influence on the back four. Hopefully everyone’s calm and collected on the ball.
“At a big club like Celtic you have to be composed on the ball at all costs. The club competes in the Champions League, Europa League and has won a Double Treble.
“I’ve fed off that atmosphere where everybody can take the ball in any situation and they never get fazed. Hopefully here we can do the same.”
Pressure-cooker games like today’s Firhill showdown will demand that level of composure more than most.
With just one point separating the two teams in the basement, this is a huge opportunity to strike a psychological blow.
But Hazard is wary of blowing the significance of the game out of proportion.
He said: “There’s still half a season to go, so I don’t think any game will be more important than the last one.
“There’s enough games left and anything can happen so this will be treated as importantly as the rest. My job is just to keep the ball out of the net and I don’t look beyond that.”
Falkirk boss Ray McKinnon