After those back-to-back defeats for Celtic in December, one of the big plus points for the team after that has been the form of Paulo Bernardo.
The 21-year-old is on loan from Benfica and is at the club to win himself a permanent contract at the end of it all. The option is on the table for Celtic.
Paul Lambert thinks Paulo Bernardo has ‘raised his levels’ in recent weeks and is now showcasing his true worth, as he told The Celtic Way.
It’s something that has been mentioned on 67 Hail Hail before, the young midfielder wasn’t doing anything entirely wrong, but nor was he singing off the hymn sheet.
Those are words echoed by Paul Lambert himself and how it can take players ‘a full season’ to settle in at a pressure cooker of a club like Celtic.
Scoring goals helps, which he has done in recent weeks, but doing it against Rangers in a winning cause is even better.
That consistency of starting in the middle of the park alongside captain reliable Callum McGregor and the best player in Scotland, Matt O’Riley, certainly aids that also.
Paulo Bernardo’s form at Celtic
“Sometimes it can take players a full season to settle in at a club like Celtic,” said Lambert.
“Others can hit the ground running and it clicks straight away. Then you get those that it may take six months or so and then they just flourish. Paulo Bernardo has come from Portugal and has had to learn a lot in the short time he has been here but he may fit into the latter category. In the last four games, he has raised his levels and he has performed well.
“It’s a start for him in terms of his Celtic career. He has now shown the Celtic fans and the manager that he can do it. The secret and trick now is to do it week in, week out. You don’t get time at Celtic to do it once in every five matches. He has to do it every single week. Bernardo seems to be quite level-headed as well as humble with it, which are two great traits.
“I have watched Bernardo play up until this point and he has seemed to be on the periphery of things but not anymore. He seemed to be content with being one of the starting eleven. There was nothing great and there was nothing bad in his performances – Bernardo was constantly in and out of the team and he hadn’t established himself as a mainstay of the side. Now all of a sudden it has all changed for him.
“Bernardo gets into the box which is a good thing and he has shown that he can net goals for Celtic. He is only 21 and there is a lot of learning for him to do and education to pick up. The carrot being dangled in front of Bernardo now is that the next five months will determine whether he wins a permanent contract at Celtic or not. If he does well and both parties agree then he will sign the deal. If he doesn’t then Brendan will need to decide on what he wants to do with him.”
Paulo Bernardo trying to earn that Celtic contract
The final judgment call should be made in the summer and Brendan Rodgers will clearly have a big say on it all.
As of this moment, the signs are positive and those early week struggles were expected because this is a completely new environment for him.
Celtic have proven that they can secure those gems in the market, just look at O’Riley since his transfer from MK Dons.
And there is no reason, if Bernardo continues in his current ways, why he can’t then earn that permanent deal and prove to be a gem for the team.
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