Adam Montgomery has opened up on his enjoyment at Celtic under Ange Postecoglou this season.
The Lennoxtown academy graduate is already undergoing a major breakthrough campaign just a couple of months into the season. Montgomery has featured on 14 occasions as he’s attempted to stake his claim to be the first-choice left-back [Transfermarkt].
He hasn’t just been rooted to domestic fixtures either. Montgomery has been utilised in all 3 of Celtic’s Europa League group stage matches also as he undergoes rapid development under Postecoglou.
And the newly-capped Scotland U21 international has opened up on life under the new boss as he painted a picture of sheer happiness.
As quoted by the Sunday Mail [print edition, 24/10, page 61], Montgomery said: “I’m delighted to even be playing at all. To be involved in squads is a big thing for me. To have played as much as I have is brilliant and playing against top teams in Europe is what I’ve been dreaming of since I was a wee guy. I have been doing what the manager’s been telling me to do.
“I’m listening and taking in all of the information he’s giving out. The way we play with the full-backs coming in and not always needing to go in narrow, you can still stay wide. I’m learning from the experienced boys who have been in the team for a while and that has been helpful for me and really helped my performances.
“The new gaffer came in and it was a clean slate for everyone which gave me a bigger opportunity to show what I could do. That has helped me because I played quite a bit in pre-season. I played in the pre-season games and the gaffer could see I could play in different positions and was versatile in any of the different structures he wanted to play.”
Adam Montgomery thriving at Celtic, but left-back spot is still up for grabs
Montgomery won’t have looked to have made the spot his own this season. That was always going to be far too big a task in his first campaign. His main goal would’ve simply been to get into more matchday squads and show the manager he can play a part in his teams.
Look at where Adam was at the end of last season for example. Montgomery was given 2 outings against St Johnstone and Hibernian at the end of the season. That was his whack. Nobody could’ve predicted the impact he’s made.
Sure, he remains raw. There’s still plenty about him that can improve. The truth is if he wants to be our long-term left-back that’s what it’s going to take. A lot of improvement.
However, you can’t dismiss what Montgomery has done so far this season. He’s impressed both domestically and in Europe. Let’s not forget how positionally sound and defensively solid he was in Alkmaar back in August for example. Montgomery is in a good place and it’s showing.
It’ll be intriguing to see how much responsibility Postecoglou puts on his shoulders this term. With Greg Taylor out, he has a big decision to make in the position over the course of the campaign. Or perhaps he’ll simply stick to a rotational policy between the likes of Montgomery, Liam Scales, Josip Juranovic, and Boli Bolingoli respectively.
But just being in the conversation is huge for Adam. His stock is improving, and his campaign could already be considered a success.
In other news, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou shows his class with respectful title race comments
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