"A big eye-opener" - Celtic summer signing opens up on previous Scottish Football experience

By Lewis Laird

July 28, 2022

Celtic midfielder Aaron Mooy has opened up on his early experiences of Scottish Football from his time spent at St Mirren.

The 31-year-old became Ange Postecoglou’s sixth new addition of the window, adding to the Hoops midfield options for the campaign ahead.

Mooy is a player that the Celtic manager knows well from his spell as boss of the Australian National team, where they both worked closely together.

However, Postecoglou isn’t the only thing that Aaron Mooy was familiar with when it came to completing his move to Parkhead.

Before spells in the English Premier League with the likes of Huddersfield and Brighton, one of Mooy’s first club’s was in Scotland, spending two years at St Mirren.

Speaking in a recent interview, the midfielder opened up on his previous experience of Scottish Football, stating that his time with the Paisley side was an ‘eye-opener’ at that stage of his career.

Mooy also reflected on some of his better moments, which included a goal against the Hoops Glasgow rivals Rangers in a 2-1 win over the Ibrox side back in 2011.

He said [Daily Record]: “It was my first professional league goal, so it was a big moment for me.

“My brother and best mate were in the stand. If you see the celebration, I’m pointing at them. They’d come over, especially for that game and to see me, so it was a special moment for me. It was a good experience at St Mirren. It exposed me to what it is like in professional football.

“When you play reserve football, it’s not like you can go down or be relegated. That exposed me to that. It was a big eye-opener. Obviously, I wasn’t that successful there, but I think I’ve improved my mental side of the game, which is very important.

“Maybe then I was a little weak mentally and not resilient enough. Impatient, I’d probably say. These things you learn as you grow as a person and a footballer.”

Mooy ready to bring his experience to Ange Postecoglou’s squad.

Since his time with St Mirren, Aaron Mooy has gone on to enjoy several different spells in leagues across the globe.

It is fair to say he has also come a long way since his days with the Buddies, performing on a consistent level on arguably one of the biggest stages of them all in the English Premier League.

His experience from earlier points in his career should prove to be crucial as part of Postecoglou’s squad this season, both on and off the field.

It will be interesting to see the sort of role that Mooy holds within the Celtic Park dressing room. But there is no doubting that the Hoops manager will get the best out of him at crucial points throughout the campaign.

In other news, Celtic set to land extra Champions League bonus.