EURO VISION
Celtic ace Turnbull admits he would love to join Steve Clarke’s heroes at summer finals
ON THE subject of a late run towards the Scotland squad for this summer’s Euro finals, David Turnbull is wise to be cautious.
Celtic assistant manager John Kennedy believes the idea can’t be ruled out. The £3million signing from Motherwell scored his eighth goal of the season — and his seventh for the Parkhead club — in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Aberdeen.
One of the few bright spots of a grim campaign for the troubled champions, Turnbull’s craft looks certain to be rewarded by a promotion from the Under-21s to the senior squad at some point.
Whether it should arrive before Scotland’s opening game in the tournament against the Czech Republic at Hampden on June 14 is another matter.
‘I wouldn’t say I’m looking towards it,’ said the 21-year-old of the European Championships, ‘but if that happens, it would be a great bonus and a great feeling for me and everybody involved with me.
‘I am not looking at that just now, I am just taking it game by game. But, if that happens, it would be a bonus.’
A manager who regards loyalty to his players as a virtue, Steve Clarke would find it difficult to sacrifice a Kenny McLean or a John Fleck for Scotland’s first appearance at a major finals since France ’98.
Leaving out some of the men who got Scotland to the finals in the first place would be a harsh and brutal act.
Clarke would be open to the emergence of a right-sided central defender or a goal-scoring striker. In contrast, central midfield is an area of feast over famine — with Billy Gilmour and Ryan Gauld banging so hard on the door the hinges are at risk.
Some of Turnbull’s Celtic teammates are already in the squad. And while he would love to join Callum McGregor and Ryan Christie, an injury or a late misfortune looks his best bet at this stage.
‘Obviously we have got great players in the team who have done well for both club and country over the years,’ he admitted. ‘I would like to follow in their footsteps and do the same. Whether that happens or not, I don’t know. But I hope so.’
The emergence of Turnbull as a mainstay at Celtic has taken time and patience. The first attempt to sign him was wrecked by a medical hitch.
When he finally moved to Parkhead last summer, his appearances were sporadic until his first goal for the club — against Lille in the Europa League — on December 10. Had he played more games sooner, Celtic fans can only ask if the season might have been different.
‘I would say there is more to come,’ he insisted. ‘Obviously I have scored another goal, but I would like to add more and get more assists.
‘I want to keep creating more chances in every game. I am sure there will be more to come. It obviously feels good when you get the plaudits some of the time, but it’s a team game.
‘Every game I have been involved in, I feel the team has done well. It is just nice to contribute however I can.
‘It was good getting the goal against Aberdeen. But I thought all the boys played well. We got ahead and then did great to grind the result out.’
Grinding out results hasn’t been a feature of Celtic’s game this season. Subjected to a late aerial bombardment by an Aberdeen team desperate for a point — a goal even — the foundation stones of a fifth straight win lay in central defence where Kris Ajer excelled alongside young Stephen Welsh.
For assistant manager Kennedy, that was the most pleasing aspect of a night when Celtic finished the game clinging on. Late fragility has been a hallmark of a campaign where they have leaked goals to the likes of St Johnstone and Ross County. While Aberdeen can’t score a goal for love or money, Kennedy still expressed satisfaction that Neil Lennon’s team held on.
‘It’s pleasing to have seen the game out the way we did,’ said the Celtic No2. ‘We don’t want to be in that position — we’d rather be two or three up and much more comfortable and in control of the game, but you know going into the last ten minutes, especially against a team like Aberdeen who have a bit of quality, you know they’re going to put the pressure on.
‘In the past, we have conceded late goals when we’ve come under pressure, so it’s a real pleasing aspect for us that the boys stayed so strong and defended set-plays, which is another area we’ve had to improve upon and we got there in the end, to get the win we deserved.’
Basking in the praise of his match-winning goal, Turnbull was just as keen to highlight the role of others in the team. Despite talk of Ajer being one of the unsettled players in the Parkhead dressing room, the defender’s level of performance has rarely dipped.
This was acknowledged by Turnbull, who added: ‘On Wednesday night, we defended set-pieces brilliantly and defended our box very well when they (Aberdeen) were putting pressure on.
‘There were spells in the second half when they had most of the ball. It could have finished differently earlier on in the season. I thought we were brilliant. Confidence is coming because obviously we are winning games. That is a good run we have gone on now.
‘Every game we go into, we feel more confident. Any time you win, you feel more confident.
‘We have got pride to play for now. We will keep pushing until everything is mathematically done. We are just going to keep pushing in every game and try to get the wins.’