Celtic’s Big Strong Man Cameron Carter-Vickers yesterday confirmed that he is happy to remain at Celtic after ‘missing it’ while out injured for most of last season…
Cameron Carter-Vickers yesterday pledged his long term future to Celtic which is a boost after losing Arne Engels last week and only retaining the services of Alistair Johnston due to another injury picked up at Rugby Park ahead of his proposed move to Everton going through.
The Canadian right-back’s injury record is becoming something of a concern and may well make future suitors think twice but that is a story for another day.
CCV spoke to the media yesterday afternoon ahead of this evening’s hugely important first leg in the Champions League playoff against Austrian Champions LASK at Celtic Park. The American damaged his achilles in a Europa League match at Paradise last October against Sturm Graz and that ended his season, so he spent most of his time on the treatment table with AJ.
That frustrating period on the sidelines has resulted in Carter-Vickers taking stock and realising that he is perfectly content playing his football in a Celtic jersey.
“I’m very happy here,” CCV said when asked about his own future by the mainstream media. The Celtic fan media as you will be aware remains banned by our own club for no obvious reason, certainly not one that was ever explained.
“To be honest, being out for so long last year did kind of make me miss it and probably gave me a little bit more extra motivation for coming into this season. So, yes, I’m happy and just looking forward to this season really,” CCV said.
“Having been out for so long, I probably don’t quite feel physically at 100 per cent yet,” Carter-Vickers admitted. “Obviously, in terms of injury, I’m fine, but just in terms of regaining fitness and sharpness.
“But I think that’s something that any player deals with throughout the course of a season. There are always ups and downs physically as you go throughout a season.
“I think especially with Achilles away, what it does, it’s kind of like a spring. So it’s just natural that it takes a bit of time to get that last one, two, three per cent back.
“I don’t think any player’s ever happy. They’re always trying to push them for more and trying to get more out of themselves.”
The American, who also missed out on the World Cup as result of his Achilles injury, dismissed suggestions that the injury might have affected him mentally.
“Not really. I think obviously it was a random one. It just kind of happened in the last minute of a game. It just went. The way I look at it, there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t control any of it. So why worry about it?”
Despite all the dramas last season, both on and off the pitch, CCV reckons that Celtic has ended up in a slightly better position that where we were last October when he last played in European football against Sturm Graz, who will be disappointed that it’s LASK and not them representing Austria this evening in the Champions League playoff.
“I think, trying to think back to that point in time, which was a while ago now, I think if you look at the squad now compared to that, you’d probably say we’re probably slightly in a better place,” Carter-Vickers admitted.
“I think the signings we have made have definitely hit the ground running and are showing their quality, so yeah, definitely probably in a better place than them.”
This evening CCV will line-up alongside the likes of Camilo Duran, Kasper Hogh and probably new arrival Mika Baur for the pre-match team photo and all three can be expected to make a significant impact in this tie and beyond that.
The two strikers of course have already proved themselves at Champions League level at their former clubs and that was one of the main reasons Celtic spent big to bring them to Paradise. And Haissem Hassan might not make that pre-match team photo opportunity but is expected to come off the bench for his first taste of Paradise which will of course be at its very best.
The new arrivals will all get a massive boost from the 60,000 Celtic supporters but it’s going to be a tough challenge for the visitors to cope with – especially with so few of them tried and tested at this level.
CCV gave his assessment on tonight’s opponents. “We watched a bit of them today, and they definitely look like a physical side. A lot of athletes in the team, so it’ll definitely be a challenge for us and a tough game.”
LASK’s 6ft 4in striker, Samuel Adeniran will be one for our two American centre-backs to take care of.
“You’ve just got to deal with what’s in front of you,” Celtic’s Big Strong Man said. “Obviously all different types of strikers give different types of problems, and sometimes the big ones can be a bit tricky to play against, but it’s something that I enjoy, and I’m looking forward to.”
You can watch Cameron Carter-Vickers mainstream media conference below…
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