THE Wrestler. Jerry Maguire. Rocky. Who doesn’t love a good yarn about sporting redemption? Former Celtic and Hearts striker Tony Watt certainly does, as he has started his own film review website entitled ‘Watt to Watch’.
And perhaps if Watt – now at Charlton Athletic – has his way, one day we will be settling down with a bucket of popcorn to watch the story of his own rapid rise to the top, his subsequent spell of turmoil and soul-searching, before his ultimate re-emergence as a hero at the top level for club and country.
As he watched current Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths’ Hampden heroics on the big screen last weekend, he couldn’t help but be inspired.
The parallels between the pair are obvious. Outwith the Celtic connection, both have had mixed spells south of the border, both have had their injury setbacks, and the application of both has in the past been called into question.
Watt believes however that he can follow in the footsteps of Scotland’s latest superhero, and fulfil the promise of a career that once looked to be destined for greatness.
“I know Griff, I know what he can do,” Watt said. “That’s no coincidence he scored two free-kicks. He has the ability for that.
“That’s him, he’s gone down in history. People write him off but people love to write others off, that is what they do. If you sat down and listened to everything people said, mentally you would be weak and mentally you wouldn’t be able to forge a career in anything.
“Sometimes people take it personally but you can’t take it personally in this business. Griff’s done that and he’s just thought ‘you know what, people think I can’t do it, I’ll go and score an extra 10 goals this season, I’ll go and score two goals against England at Hampden.’ “I can [take inspiration from that], because I know I’m a good player. If you’re not playing and not doing well people are going to judge you but that’s football. Sometimes that makes you stronger and gives you a reason to prove people wrong.”
It has been almost four years since Watt scored what proved to be the decisive goal for Celtic against Barcelona, a moment that has both been the highlight and a hindrance to his career and how he is portrayed since.
Still only 23, he isn’t ready to accept the obituaries that some seem to be writing for his career, particularly north of the border where his loan spell at Hearts last season is generally viewed as something of a failure.
“I haven’t even peaked yet so nobody can say I’m past it,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of good things and shown glimpses but that’s it.
“I was kicking on down south but I got injured and if that happened again then I would know how to handle it.
“After my injury, I got a Scotland cap, and my first game back at Blackburn I ripped my groin off the bone.
“My career was slowly going up the way, I was about to move to Cardiff, then Blackburn, then I got an injury and I didn’t know mentally how to deal with an injury. It set me back a bit.”
“I failed last year, it wasn’t the best of seasons but when I played at Hearts in my 12 starts we only lost three games, which isn’t a bad stat.
“I’m going to make sure no matter where I am, I’m, ready. Whether that is Scotland or whatever, we’ll see. I know last year will give me ammunition to have an even better year this year.
*Tony Watt was speaking at the launch of his new online movie website Watt To Watch. Check out Tony’s movie reviews and big name interviews at www.watttowatch.co.uk’
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