There aren’t many more difficult places to play than at Celtic across the footballing world.
From the outside, many will see Celtic picking up trophy after trophy, and dominating Scotland like nobody has ever seen before.
But there is a reason why Celtic are doing that, and it’s never easy trying to maintain those expectations, especially when there is disappointment in not winning the Treble.
That was proven during the recently concluded season when Celtic won the double, and missed out on all the domestic trophies after losing the Scottish Cup final to Aberdeen.
One player who came through the ranks at Celtic Park, and would have seen all of this first-hand is their departed winger, Rocco Vata.
Rocco Vata explains Celtic ‘pressure’ to Watford
Vata left Celtic and joined Watford last summer, so he could earn more game time, as well as earn a better financial reward at England’s second-tier club.
The Republic of Ireland star was asked by Watford what it’s like playing in front of such ‘pressure’ and an ‘expectant fanbase’.
Whilst Vata acknowledged that the pressure is huge, he explained why he was able to play with a ‘sense of freedom’.
Question: Starting out at Celtic, there must have been a lot of pressure for an expectant fanbase?
“There was a lot of pressure on the team to win each game,” Vata told Watford’s official website. “But I wouldn’t say there was much pressure on me as I was the youngest in the team.
“As a result, each time I played, I felt a sense of freedom.”
Question: You must have also been able to learn a lot from a side that is so used to winning not just matches, but trophies?
“Yeah, it’s always been super important to me,” added Vata. “I have a real passion to win, and I always want more, so I was happy to experience winning at my time in the first team at Celtic.”
What was said about Vata in 2022
There was a lot of noise around Vata when he was coming through at Celtic, and patience was needed if he wanted to make it to the big time.
What is interesting is that, back in 2022, his former coach Darren O’Dea knew he was going to go somewhere in his career, as posted by Celtic State of Mind.
“The most impressive thing about Rocco is his mentality and attitude to the game,” said O’Dea.
“We had a pre-season friendly, just at the top of my head, this year, and it didn’t go particularly well. But he is someone who has a kind of killer attitude that he never stops.
“He has got a fantastic ability to beat people, and to create chances. But on top of that, he has got a really strong, strong mind, so he is someone who is very young and needs to be managed well, but he is going in the right direction.
“I am confident to say, if he reaches his full potential, our goal as a staff is to help him do that, then that potential could take him to the top, to be fair.”
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