Greenock Morton's John Sutton says his teammates are delighted for Celtic's Stephen Welsh

By David Walton

February 4, 2020

Greenock Morton striker John Sutton has claimed that he and his team-mates are delighted to see Stephen Welsh make his Celtic impact, and claimed they were all talking about him on Monday.

The youngster managed to make his debut for the Bhoys in Sunday’s 4-1 win at Hamilton. It was a result that allowed Celtic to go seven points clear at the top of the Premiership, but Welsh will be just as delighted with his own individual performance.

Indeed, he looked the most at ease out of a back three containing Christopher Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer. Both of his partners made some sloppy errors whereas Welsh had a steady outing that contained no noticeable mistakes.

Former St Mirren striker John Sutton (Steve Welsh/Getty Images)

This came after a loan spell with Morton came to an end towards the end of January. And speaking in The National, Sutton doesn’t have a bad word to say about the Parkhead youngster.

“I got on well with him and I think all of the boys did, I doubt that anybody at the club would have a bad word to say about him. He’s a really good guy and he was a pleasure to have about the place.

“He was good to talk to a lot of the time, and all the players were talking about him at training on Monday. Everyone was absolutely delighted for him that he has gone in there and has done so well.

“Hopefully the time he spent with us has given him something a little bit different to what he might have experienced at Celtic and has strengthened his game a little bit.”

A massive leap, but you wouldn’t know it

Welsh made 15 Championship appearances for Morton, with many of them coming as a right-back (Transfermarkt). Therefore, you can see why he adapted so well to being a right-sided centre-back in a back three.

One aspect of Welsh’s game that we didn’t get to see much of was his crossing. Playing as a right-back for Morton, his crossing skills will hopefully have come on during his time there. However, if Neil Lennon continues to persist with a back three then there’s no real need for him to go darting down the right flank.

It was more his composure that impressed more than anything he did skill-wise on Sunday. The occasion didn’t get to Welsh. Even when the score was at 1-0 and 1-1 for long spells, he simply kept the head and kept things simple.

Celtic boss Neil Lennon (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

He did make one crucial intervention to halt David Moyo from making it 2-0 to Hamilton, or at least forcing Fraser Forster into another top save. He showed real pace and quality to hook the ball over his head and away from his own goal.

The best thing you could probably say about Welsh’s debut is that you didn’t really notice him. Everything was so efficient that he didn’t need the spotlight on him.

The big question now is whether he’ll stay in the team or not ahead of a grueling February. However, after such a positive display yesterday, why not?