Celtic's Starfelt expertly bats down stumbling rivals question; also fields bizarre 'cup upset' query

By John McGinley

January 20, 2022

Celtic defender Carl Starfelt fielded an ‘interesting’ set of questions from the media today as he previewed the upcoming Scottish Cup clash against Alloa.

Starfelt has been a figure of focus in recent weeks with some pundits continuing to criticise his defensive performances at the Bhoys.

However, on Monday night he looked refreshed and comfortable, putting together a defensively dominant performance in a 2-0 victory against Hibernian.

That was an important result of course, especially because title rivals Rangers dropped points the next night away to Aberdeen.

Naturally, Starfelt was quizzed about their stumbling draw by reporters today, but expertly batted down those questions with the company line, stating [Celtic YouTube]: “No, I don’t pay any attention to it. We will just try to get our points and we’ll see what happens at the end of the season.”

It would have been easy to fall into a headline trap here but Starfelt was savvy enough not to do any of his talking off the pitch.

Meanwhile, despite admitting moments earlier he didn’t know much about Alloa, Starfelt was also dealt a pretty snide question about the scale of a potential cup upset this weekend against the Scottish League One side.

Starfelt was asked, specifically, “How big an upset would this be, do you think, should Celtic lose on Saturday?”

I’m not sure what kind of answer the journalist was expecting, but again the Swedish defender dealt with it well, dismissing the premise of the question.

He replied: “We’re not thinking about that. We’re just thinking it will be a tough game. It’s one leg and anything can happen. We need to go there with 100% focus. If we do that and do our best then I am sure we will go through.”

I wonder if Ange Postecoglou will deal with questions like these in his press conference tomorrow. I’m sure he’d have a one-liner or two up his sleeve if so.

I’ve become fond of Starfelt over the last six months, even if I have spotted inconsistencies in his game. He doesn’t complain or hide, he always shows up and attempts to play in the manner Postecoglou demands.

If the evidence of Monday night is anything to go by, he’s improving too. Hopefully we can get a good run of form from him now as the competitions come thick and fast.

In other news, Two big updates on Matt O’Riley as Celtic gear up for an announcement.