AARON Mooy gets embarrassed when he receives the adulation of the Celtic fans after he scores – but the midfielder has stressed that he is determined to continue his impressive form up front and add to his haul of goals all the same.
Mooy put the Parkhead club 3-1 ahead against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park thuis afternoon when he got on the end of a Jota chip and lobbed opposition goalkeeper Remi Matthews.
It was the sixth time in nine games the Australian internationalist had found the target and it further endeared him to the travelling supporters who had made the trip to Perth to see the Scottish champions in action.
The 32-year-old, whose representatives are in talks with Celtic about a contract extension, confessed that he prefers not to be in the limelight, but conceded that he enjoys hearing his name being chanted all the same.
"I don't like attention much, but it's a great feeling,” he said. “I try and hold back my smile, but I can't when they sing it. I'm enjoying it and the fans enjoy singing it.
"This is a big club, you're playing for a big club. The fans are amazing. Home and away, even around the city, back home. It's a bit hard to explain. It's something you have to experience yourself. I'm enjoying it.
"I'm happy to get a few goals. When you get chances in this team then you have to take them as there are so many good players and I am happy to get another goal.
"I don't know why I have started scoring. It is just clicking together, maybe because of the role I am playing. I am understanding it better and better and linking up with my team mates.
"The squad is amazing. There's really good players there. I try not to think about it too much. If I play, then play my game and try and do my best. That's it.”
Asked about his goal against St Johnstone, he said: "When you are playing football you don't really think about things. You get the thing in your head and you just do it. If you think about it too much then it can go wrong.
“When the ball was coming over I had the plan to take a touch and lift it over the goalkeeper and my touch was good and that allowed me to do that in the end. I haven't seen it back yet.”
Mooy, who joined Celtic on a free transfer in the summer, failed to score once in the first 23 games that he played for Ange Postecoglou’s side and has not set himself a target for the 2022/23 campaign.
“When you get that first goal it is like a monkey off your back and that is very pleasing,” he said. "We will see. I just take it a day at a time, a game at a time and train and play. I don't look too far ahead. I think in Australia I had good one, 17 or something like that. It was a few years ago.”
