Christie claims Player of the Month for November but ends up
RYAN CHRISTIE has firmly made a name for himself these past few months, but the playmaker felt his reputation was sullied somewhat in the immediate aftermath of the Betfred League Cup final.
With goalkeeper Scott Bain on the prowl with a camera phone, it was Christie’s moves of a different nature that put him back in the public eye as his dressing-room dancing became a social-media hit.
“I’ve been stitched up,” he laughed. “I fancy myself as a bit of a mover but that does me no justice whatsoever.”
If Christie has been Celtic’s mover and shaker since arriving onto the scene in the Betfred Cup semi-final against Hearts at Murrayfield, then it has not been without cost.
Public dance-offs aside, Christie’s man-of-the-moment status on Sunday evening after his goal at Hamden propelled Brendan Rodgers to his seventh straight domestic trophy with Celtic meant ploughing through his phone in order to thank his well-wishers.
“Sunday was nice and I got plenty of messages from everyone,” said November’s Ladbrokes Player of the Month. “I know how quickly football can change and go the other way so I need to keep working hard.
“I haven’t been out too much because we have so many games but it is nice and it has been all positive.
“The messages were coming from everyone – [including] John Hughes, my old manager. It is nice to see that people who helped to get you to where you are still have that proud feeling when they watch you.
“It took a while. I had to set aside a good hour of my time on Sunday night to get through them.”
If Christie has been the standout player of late, Kilmarnock may rival him for the quietly in-form club. Steve Clarke has taken the Ayrshire side to the top of the table with Christie particularly impressed at the manner in which Greg Stewart, whom he was a fellow loan player with at Aberdeen, has got his career on track at Rugby Park on another loan stint from parent club Birmingham.
“I’m not too sure why it didn’t go right for him at Aberdeen,” reflected Christie.
“Kilmarnock have done really well. Their manager has done a brilliant job, although I think you saw glimpses of that last season.
“You also look at the boys they’ve brought in. I was with Greg Stewart at Aberdeen last season and it didn’t really work out for him there but you could see how good he was in training. I’m not surprised he’s doing so well.
“He’s got one of the best left-foot chops I’ve ever seen in football – you can see it coming but you can’t do anything about it.
“But fair play to him – they are a very structured side but they also have a few play-