WHEN Dedryck Boyata bounces out of bed and down to Celtic’s hotel lobby for breakfast this week, he will do so with a little more spring in his step than when he there a year ago.

The soaring skyscrapers arching up into the blue yonder and the big yellow ball beaming through the windows may be the same as 12 months ago when he was in Dubai with the Scottish champ-ions, but back then the rays were not the only thing weighing down on his shoulders. He was also uncertain about what the future would hold when he returned to Glasgow.

“If you look back at January 2017 until today, it’s been a great year. That’s when I started in this Celtic team,” said the Belgian defender. “I played a lot of games until an injury setback. But after that I got back in and I’ve stayed there.

“Going into the last winter break, I had only played one game that season. So I thought January was the time to go and seek football somewhere else.

“But it never got to the point where I sat down with the manager to discuss what to do. When we got back from Dubai, I was playing.

“As a footballer you want to play games so when I wasn’t, of course I was thinking about going elsewhere. To get to the next step, you need to know what the exact situation is. Thankfully I didn’t get to that point.

“In Dubai, it was a bit of unsettling period for me. It was the January transfer window and we had a training camp there. I didn’t know what

would happen from day to day but I had to train. I did whatever I was told to do.”

Whatever he did, it clearly worked. Eight of his first nine games after coming back to Glasgow resulted in a clean sheet, while two of his five

goals last term came in those early weeks.

Last month’s derby with Rangers took his match tally for this campaign beyond last season and up to 23, a figure which includes three Champions League games and a Betfred Cup final, such is his importance to the cause.

“I’ve always tried to improve my game, especially as a defender. I watch games non-stop and try to see what I could have done better,” added Boyata. “It’s not so much physically, I’m not going to build up big muscles.

“But in the games, you’re trying to stay focused to not make any mistakes in 90 minutes. Basically, just to defend better. If I make a mistake, I look back at the video to see what I did wrong.

“The manager has been good in that aspect. Every player here knows what we’re supposed to do. And if we don’t, it will be analysed, talked about and then we see what we can do to change it.”

It appears that Boyata will have competition for his place when the season gets back up and running again in the form of Marvin Compper, the German internationalist who joined up from Red Bull Leipzig last month. Granted With Erik Sviatchenko destined to depart after Brendan

Rodgers told him he was free to go, Boyata will be vying for a starting spot with Jozo Simunovic as well as Compper, but he has nothing but good vibes about working with the experienced centre-half.

“I’m looking forward to working with Marvin,” said the 27-year-old. “He’s an experienced player at 32 and has a cap for Germany so I’m sure he’s a very good player.

“But I want to stay in the team because I have the World Cup coming up in the summer for Belgium. This could be a big six months for me.

“But in any team you need a bit of freshness, it’s almost impossible to play every game at 100 per cent fit. So we need players to help us.

“Of course, for myself, I want to play every game now until the end of the season. But I’ve had examples before when I’ve been injured or my body just couldn’t cope – and I’ve had to come out of the team.

“So having a new defender here can only help us.”

The central defensive area has perhaps been the biggest issue for Celtic throughout the campaign for one reason or another, whether it’s poor form, injury or players such as Nir Bitton or Mikael Lustig being played out of position to fill gaps.

“ When people say we need new centre-backs, I can’t change that,” Boyata said. “If any team has ambitions, they always want to improve and have the best players they possibly can. Big clubs want to win everything. It’s not just the staff, it’s the players and the fans too – they want everything so they always want to change something.

“As a player, I can’t affect that. I want to be on the pitch and there’s only one guy you need to convince, the manager.

“For that, you need to work hard every day. In terms of bringing new players, it’s the same at every club, it’s just the way it is today.

“Looking ahead, you just never know what might happen. I’m not going to lie. At the moment I feel really focused and settled. I’m looking forward to 2018. I want to start it positively and continue until the end of the season.”