Celtic academy shot-stopper Liam Hughes has been stepping up in the absence of Craig Gordon and has spoken about gaining valuable matchday experience.
Gordon has been sidelined since the start of the month and has thus missed a bunch of matchday squads. Scott Bain has been filling in as the number two, with Fraser Forster by far the out-and-out first-choice.
However, with Gordon injured, Celtic needed someone to step in and train with the senior side. Both Conor Hazard and Ross Doohan are out on loan at Dundee and Ayr United respectively. So step up Liam Hughes, who’s been selected to step up.
Speaking in the Celtic View this week (Volume 55, Issue 31, pages 40 + 41), the academy stopper has touched on his experience over the last few weeks.
“Over the past few weeks, I’ve been included in the matchday squad just when Craig Gordon was injured. Motherwell was the first one and I had four games there. I basically spent the whole time in between up with the first team, training and playing, and then the Aberdeen game for the reserves was my first day stepping back down.
“It’s such a good experience being around everything at the top level, especially going up to Aberdeen and being in and around the changing room in those big games, soaking up the atmosphere. There are so many big characters in the first team, so many good leaders, so to talk to them, to even sit back and watch them, is good from a learning point of view.
“It was good to be among the celebrations. Going forward, I’d love to be involved as much with the first-team as I possibly can, and to keep improving my own game as much as I can as well.”
Goalkeeping competition sky-high in the academy ranks
It sounds from the way Hughes is speaking that Gordon has perhaps returned to training. That likely means that he didn’t help prepare with the first-team squad for the Kilmarnock win at the weekend.
However, just being in and around the treble-treble eight-in-a-row winners is huge for youngsters like Hughes. It gives them a taste of the mentality needed in that dressing room. It’s not just about technical skill, but it’s about your mental strength. That Celtic squad is full of big personalities, and Hughes will have experienced that first-hand.
But he isn’t the only shot-stopper looking to make an impact at Lennoxtown. Doohan and Hazard are out getting key first-team experience, whilst the likes of Ryan Mullen and Tobi Oluwayemi are also developing nicely in the academy.
Hughes himself is a relatively fresh face at the club too. Celtic only signed him two years ago from Dungannon Swifts, where he was a regular on the Northern Irish club’s bench. At only 18 years of age, Hughes has also managed to bag a Northern Ireland under-21 cap back in October 2019 against Romania.
The youngster is certainly going the right way about impressing if Neil Lennon believed he was good enough to join the senior squads. This appears to be yet another name from the academy we can expect to hear more of.
Who should be next in line for their debut from Lennoxtown? What do you make of the goalkeeping talent developing in the academy at the moment? Give us your thoughts in the discussion forum below.
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