If Stephen Welsh had a pound for every time someone has asked him in summer if the coming season is a pivotal one for him, he’d probably be comfortably well enough off not to have to pursue a career as a professional footballer.
This time around, though, it really does feel that way. Welsh is now 24. He is firmly out of the young prospect category, but has never quite managed to establish himself firmly as a first team regular at Celtic.
He made just 14 appearances for the club in what was, admittedly, an injury-hit campaign last season, but he would have hoped to have made more than just the 66 appearances all told for the club across the five seasons since his Celtic debut.
His contract runs for another three years, so time may still be on his side, but the defender is eager to force his way more regularly into the thoughts of manager Brendan Rodgers sooner rather than later.
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To do that, he is drawing inspiration from a man who looked to be well out of the picture at the club last term, but who stormed his way back into the reckoning with a combination of hard work, patience, and a will to never give up on his Celtic career.
Liam Scales has shown that it can be done in his own centre back position, but it is the example of James Forrest that Welsh is looking to as he sets out to nail down a place at the heart of the Celtic defence.
“Jamesy was absolutely outstanding for us last season,” Welsh said.
“I think it was very difficult for him, he’s a player who wants to play every game, as we all do.
“The way he finished the season was incredible, and I think I can take a lot from that.
“He’s an experienced player and maybe one or two things didn’t go his way, but then he goes and finishes the season like that, so I think that’s something that all the young lads can look up to.
“I think the older he gets, the better he’s getting. He’s been an excellent player for us, and I’m sure he will show us that this season as well.
“All I can do is go in, work hard and show what I can do, and hopefully by the time the season comes I’ll be in a good position.
“I think very player at Celtic gets asked that, is it a big season for us? Every game is a big game for us, every training session is a big training session for us, we look at it each day.”
Welsh captained Celtic as they kicked off their pre-season preparations with a 1-1 draw against Ayr United on Friday night, and though it might only have been a friendly, the honour of pulling on the armband was still a thrill.
More importantly, it was also a sign of the trust that his manager has in him.
“As a young fan, that is the dream,” he said.
“Even in a pre-season friendly, there is no better feeling than that. I just went out and enjoyed it.
“That’s all you can ask for from the gaffer, if he trusts you then you trust yourself on the pitch.
“I was obviously delighted, but I think it’s about looking ahead to the next games for us and we’re looking forward to that.
“Football fitness was the most important thing for us.
“It’s 45 minutes in the legs, and that’s us a week in training now, so to get a game under your belt is positive.
“There’s obviously stuff we need to work on, but I’m sure we’ll get going in the next few weeks.
“[Pre-season] is a big opportunity for everyone to get fit and to show that you can play in the team.
“The gaffer mentioned the young lads coming up, it’s about personality, it’s about wanting to take the ball.
“I know exactly how that feels as a young lad coming up and playing with the first team. It can be very daunting, even in a pre-season game.
“So, I think we’ve got a lot to improve on, and there’s no better chance to than to play another game, which is only a few days away, so we’re looking forward to that.”
Welsh knows that not only will he have the centre-backs already in-situ to compete with for a place alongside arguably the only nailed-on starter in Cameron Carter-Vickers, but that manager Rodgers will be looking to strengthen that area further in this transfer window.
He long ago recognised that to be the reality of life at Celtic, but he believes that constant quest to raise standards is vital to the ongoing success of the club.
“I think with this club, we’re always striving to improve and trying to get better, we’re never standing still,” he said.
“The more competition for places in the team, the better, because it pushes everyone else on.
“It doesn’t matter whereabouts, any position on the pitch, if we have quality in it then it makes us a better team.”
