Celtic derby hero Jota was full of gratitude and joy on his post-match press duties after punishing Rangers.
The Bhoys attacker scored a sumptuous chip over Jon McLaughlin to put his team 2-0 up in the 4-0 rout, again showing that he is one of the best players in Scotland right now.
But he was not in the mood to receive plaudits from the assembled media. He was more interested in sharing a message of humility and thanks to his teammates.
As quoted by The Scottish Mail on Sunday [04/09 print edition, page 148], he said: “It’s just an unbelievable time to be alive right now. I’m so grateful to be in the team that plays this kind of football. I’ve played like this all my youth and this is just the way I want to play football, with these principles. Attacking football, high tempo, high pressing, one v ones, crossings, assists, goals. That’s what we aim for.
“I think we are in a good moment right now, there are plenty of difficult matches to come so we just need to remain humble and work hard every day. That’s what we have been doing since last season and we want to keep improving.
“I must say something — people often think that confidence brings more confidence but these are the times you just have to remain humble. We have to stick to our principles. Because we know how hard it was to get here. We have to understand that our feet stay on the ground. We still have room to improve and we need to be better game after game.”
Jota has demonstrated in his time at Celtic that he is not just a brilliant footballer but also a wise, charismatic soul who works for all of his rewards. These comments are just brilliant.
Still just 23, he has a whole career ahead of him and with this attitude, backed by his obvious skill, you’d have to say he is destined to shine at the highest level.
One of his biggest career tests comes on Tuesday with the visit of Real Madrid and if he can perform on that stage as well as he has recently, we’re not going to be able to keep him as Scottish football’s joyous secret for much longer.
In other news, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou hits back at his critics.
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