Celtic continued their unbeaten Scottish Premiership run at the weekend against Motherwell on a day where Luke McCowan showed to everyone that he can mix it in the starting line-up.
The Bhoys strolled to victory at Fir Park with minimal fuss, preventing any notion that a European hangover could be about to hit amid their involvement in the Champions League against Atalanta.
Brendan Rodgers made four changes for the clash, one enforced, but the main headline was Luke McCowan’s goal against Motherwell to open the scoring.
Arriving for £1 million from Dundee in the summer, the 26-year-old has warranted a start due to his recent series of impressive cameo appearances.
But how does he feel handling the pressure of starting? McCowan has now answered that question as he continues to grow into the green and white jersey.
Luke McCowan on taking the mantle of Celtic starter
After scoring his second goal in a dream start for Celtic, McCowan has insisted he hasn’t won the ‘lottery’ to start matches under Rodgers and praised the Irishman for showing faith in his ability to be a difference-maker.
He stated [Daily Record]: “Just as any other. You’ve got to stay calm. It’s something I want to be doing. It’s not as if I’ve won the lottery to get a start.
“You’ve got to work hard to get that. I think I was saying that to my mindset coach [on Saturday], it was just a case of being frustrated about not playing and it means you’re doing something well. And I was. And then to get the nod to start shows the manager’s got a bit of trust in me.
“Obviously, when you come here as a fan, everybody can hype it up and make it a lot more than what it is, but I’ve got to go there and perform. It’s like any other promotion in a job isn’t it? You get excited when you first get there, but as soon as you’re there, you can’t just put the tools down and stop doing it.
“You need to go and graft away and put the hard work in, get myself fitter, get myself in the team and make impacts, not just run about and make a couple of passes.
“I kind of need to go and prove that I deserve a start and deserve to be playing and I think I’ve done well enough to do that. It’s about scoring goals and getting assists, so I need to try and do that. It’s about getting three points and doing that game by game, so that’s my kind of job.”
Luke McCowan’s argument to start against Dundee
With a hefty Celtic fixture schedule on the horizon, there is every chance McCowan could prolong his stay in the starting line-up when Dundee come to town on Wednesday night.
Rodgers will be keen to keep key players fresh with one eye on the Premier Sports Cup semi-final and the Bhoys’ Champions League challenge against RB Leipzig next week, so it may make sense to grant the Greenock-born man another chance to stake his claim.
Ultimately, McCowan hasn’t been subject to too much wear and tear since coming to Celtic. He appears to be fresh and can add fresh ideas in the engine room.
Hopefully, he can continue his positive form as the Hoops look to stay at the top of the Scottish Premiership at Parkhead.
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