Marvin Compper, remember him? The rarely-spotted centre-half has reemerged from cold storage to join the heat of the battle for a starting spot at the heart of the Celtic defence, and he warmed up for the challenge with some bold proclamations on what he can bring to the party.
The 33-year-old made his return from injury against Vorwarts Steyr on Wednesday night, with the 45-minute outing in the friendly in Austria only the second time that he has played for the club since joining in January. His other appearance came in the Scottish Cup quarter final win against Morton in March.
Compper is naturally laid-back in his manner, but there was an air of determination around him after the run-out as he explained his desire to show Brendan Rodgers that he can be the Champions League level defender that Celtic manager is looking for.
So far, he hasn’t had the chance to show anyone in Scotland, well, anything, really. The German has been plagued by injury problems since his arrival, mainly due to issues with his calves, but now feels fully fit and able to not only contribute to the cause, but to show the Celtic support why his manager brought him to the club from RB Leipzig in the first place.
“The past is the past,” Compper said. “I want to focus on the positives and look to the future now.
“I hope I can be a Champions League defender for Celtic, that’s what I want to contribute.
“Hopefully I can play the part that the manager had foreseen for me. The reason the manager brought me in is still there. He hopes that I can play that role, and I hope that too.
“It’s about fitness first and foremost. If I have that, then I am confident I have the quality. I have shown that throughout my career.
“I’ve also had time to get to know everything about the club now, even though I didn’t play. I’m confident I can play in this team.”
Compper was frustrated that he couldn’t make a positive first impression after arriving at Celtic in the winter, picking up his initial calf injury almost immediately after joining the squad for warm weather training in Dubai.
But now that he is fully fit, he doesn’t want to run out the remaining two years of his contract sitting in the stand or as a bit-part player.
“I owe it to myself,” he said. “I didn’t come to Celtic just to sit on my contract. I came because it was such an interesting task for an experienced defender like me to come to a club which is fighting for titles and trophies. I am confident that I have the qualities to help with that.
“I had issues with my calves and that’s why I was out. That is all settled now. I worked hard during the break and hopefully I won’t have any more problems with it.
“This definitely feels like a fresh start for me at Celtic. It’s only the second time I have worn the kit, even though I’ve been here for five months.
“I’m happy to be healthy right now and to be able to get going. It’s been frustrating for me, the management and everyone really.
“The club brought me in and I couldn’t contribute so far. But for everyone, this is a fresh start.”
Amidst the talk of new beginnings as Celtic embark on their preparations for another season is a nod to the fact that they are looking for more of the same in many ways after another domestic treble was bagged in May.
The perception may be that Compper was detached from the achievement and the subsequent celebrations after being seen so rarely on the field of play, but his positivity ensured that even though he couldn’t contribute on the pitch, he was doing so off of it.
“I missed playing a lot, but you have to look forward and you have to be positive,” he said. “If you are not positive, you won’t get out of it.
“Even if I didn’t contribute as much on the pitch [last season], I was still there and I still helped in any way I could at the time. I always try to do that.
“I was part of the celebrations and it’s not just a saying when it’s said that everyone in the squad is important – 24 or 30 players or whatever, everyone is important.
“If you only have 16 players, you won’t win trophies. You need more players to push the ones who are starting or if they are not in a good shape sometimes, others need to be ready.
“In the four months of last season, I didn’t have that role on the pitch, but I’m hoping that this season that I will have more game-time and contribute more on the pitch.”
Meanwhile, Lewis Morgan was delighted to get his first run-out in a Celtic shirt in their pre-season win.
Morgan started the game, after finally arriving from St Mirren earlier this summer, and was happy to get some minutes under his belt alongside his new team-mates.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Morgan, who was signed in January but loaned back to St Mirren for the second half of the last campaign, told Celtic TV. “I have been eager to pull the strip on for the first time and it was good to get a wee run-out.”
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