Eoghan O’Connell has told Brendan Rodgers that he is ready and willing, if required in Kazakhstan this week.
The young Irish defender netted his first goal for the club on Saturday afternoon in the 1-1 draw with Leicester, but he acquitted himself well in a back three too.
And with Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata still sidelined, he has told Rodgers that he is ready if needed.
“I wouldn’t have played if the manager didn’t trust me,” he said. “He has shown faith in me in the pre-season games the team has played in. I have played parts in every game. It is great for me to have that trust and hopefully I can build on that.
“I think I’m ready. I have been involved in the first team now for the last three and a half or four seasons. I think if the opportunity comes on Wednesday I will be ready to go.
“I have been here for four or five years now. It is coming to the stage where I am in between. It is going to be one way or the other. But all I can do is keep being positive and keep doing the best I can when I get my chance and that is what I will look to do.”
And while O’Connell is respectful of Astana and their impressive home record, he has insisted that Celtic will still go and look top win the game on Wednesday afternoon.
“You don’t get into the qualifying rounds of the Champions League unless you’re a good team,” he said. “We have to be very switched on and be ready to go so that we can bring a result home to the second leg.
“Celtic are one of the biggest teams in the world. We don’t go anywhere looking to draw games. We will be going there to win.”
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here