Liam Shaw identifies the Celtic teammate who urged him to move to Motherwell

By David Walton

January 25, 2022

Celtic midfielder Liam Shaw has stated that Hoops teammate David Turnbull encouraged him to finalise his loan move to Motherwell.

Shaw is with the Fir Park club for the rest of the season in a bid to get some senior minutes in the Premiership. The 2021 signing was named on the bench for the Steelmen’s Scottish Cup win vs Greenock Morton at the weekend, but has yet to make his debut.

His move there comes after a period of adaption at Celtic Park. Shaw only started 1 game in the first half of the season – a dead-rubber Europa League clash against Real Betis last month.

And as he contemplated a move to North Lanarkshire, Shaw has revealed that Turnbull helped to give him a nudge towards the Premiership club.

As quoted by the Daily Record, Shaw said: “I spoke to David Turnbull about this move. He said it was a great club. He’s been here and he’s from around here so he said it was a great move for me. He’s told me to try and get as much game time as I can while I am here. I’ve been getting to know all the lads and things like that in training. I am really enjoying it so far and I am getting used to how things work in training.

“I spoke to the gaffer there (at Celtic) and we both decided that I needed to get games under my belt to hopefully get me ready for next season.

“So this is more about getting the game time that I need and getting the experience in the Premiership. My hopes are to hopefully win as many games as I can while I am here and hopefully we get as many wins as possible.”

Ange Postecoglou and Liam Shaw in mutual Celtic understanding

It’s clear what Shaw’s goal here is then. Get himself senior minutes at Premiership level and become more accustomed to the level he’ll be up against when he does manage to break his way into the Celtic team.

His sights will be on making an impression at Lennoxtown next pre-season. That’s when he’ll have his opportunity to show why he should be a part of Postecoglou’s Celtic squad.

And make no mistake, the competition is heating up. With Yosuke Ideguchi and Matt O’Riley in the door, that adds to the likes of Callum McGregor, Turnbull, James McCarthy, Nir Bitton, and Ismaila Soro respectively. That’s a lot of bodies for Shaw to overcome.

First and foremost, he needs to break his way into Graham Alexander’s team in Lanarkshire. Shaw was unforutnately ruled out through injury for the Steelmen’s defeat at Ross County last week, and it was a touch frustrating he didn’t make an appearance against Morton.

But there will be a mutual understanding between Celtic and Motherwell here. Shaw will hopefully be given minutes in this week’s game against Hibernian at Fir Park. It’s certainly a nice, competitive first challenge for him if he is indeed selected.

And no doubt the Celtic supporters will be watching his progress closely this season along with Ange. This loan spell a Fir Park could be the making of Shaw.

In other news, Charlie Nicholas tears into rivals for shameful refereeing complaints ahead of Celtic clash