Having been a player at Celtic for nearly five years now and picked up no fewer than nine trophies during that time, Greg Taylor is well aware that he and his team mates can ill afford to dwell on their successes for too long.
Taylor, who helped the cinch Premiership winners to beat their city rivals Rangers 1-0 in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final at Hampden on Saturday and complete a double, certainly enjoyed the post-match celebrations at Parkhead to the full.
However, the Scotland left back will, once he has returned from the Euro 2024 finals in Germany, be sure to park the historic triumph and turn his attentions to helping Brendan Rodgers’ team perform even better and achieve even more in the 2024/25 campaign.
He has already thought of one way that Celtic can build on the progress they have made during what has been an eventful and often extremely challenging season – sign cup goal hero Adam Idah.
The defender was delighted when Norwich city loanee Idah grabbed the winner in the last minute of regulation time at the weekend and is hopeful the Scottish champions can now secure the services of the Republic of Ireland internationalist permanently this summer.
He admitted that he has been urging the £5m-rated striker to return and revealed that he believes the 6ft 3in 23-year-old is eager to do so.
“In football you can never stand still,” he said. “We played against a difficult opponent in the cup final and I’m sure next season it will be the same. The aim is to strengthen again and try to have more success next year.
“Adam has been key. He’s scored goals in some really big moments and it’s also pushed Kyogo (Furuhashi). I think he has gone to another level again since Adam came in.
“But Adam has been outstanding, his goals have been outstanding. So the two of them have made really big, key contributions and I’m really proud of them both.
“Adam and Kyogo really complement each other - they are both top players in their own right. It’s not about going long with Adam, it’s more that his hold-up play is one of his strengths.
“When teams go man-to-man and are pressing you high - look at Kilmarnock the other week - he gives us another option and another layer to our game. He’s been outstanding, with some massive contributions in games and, as I say, I’m really proud of him.”
Taylor added: “It’s important to remember that he’s still a young guy. He just needed a fresh start. He had been at Norwich a long time and had done really well, but this has given him that fresh start and I’m sure he would be keen to stay.
“He’s really young still - just because he has that presence, it’s easy to forget that. He’s really enjoyed his time here and I’m sure he would be keen to stay. I certainly will be trying to persuade him, definitely. I hope we can push on next season. That’s the aim.”
Few Celtic supporters would have fancied their chances of doing a league and cup double – and equalling Rangers’ all-time trophy haul of 118 – when they were toiling badly earlier this season.
Taylor, though, stressed that he was always confident they would come good when key players returned from injury.
Asked if he still thought they would enjoy a decent campaign after they had been held to a 1-1 draw at home by his old club Kilmarnock back in February and given their nearest challengers Rangers the chance to go top, he said: “Truthfully, I did.
“Because at no point in the season was it not still in our hands. We still had Rangers to play at Celtic Park after the draw at Ibrox, so I was still quietly confident.
“Of course, at that point in the season there were a few sticky games and a few disappointing results, but we peaked at the right time, got a lot of bodies back fit and have had a really strong squad and strong finish.
“We were saying in the dressing room that the cup final was pretty reflective of how the whole season has gone. It’s not always been pretty, but we’ve got a really strong mentality in the group, a winning mentality, and in the big moments we’ve turned up.
“I wouldn’t say it’s extra special because of everything we have been through, because last year we were really consistent and won a treble and that felt every bit as good. But winning trophies is the best feeling in the world, and Saturday was no different.”
Taylor, who was last week named in Steve Clarke’s provisional 28 man squad for the Euros, stressed that he and his Celtic team mates will be in a confident frame of mind when they join the Scotland camp this week to prepare for the warm-up friendlies against Gibraltar and Finland.
“It’s a really exciting time for the whole nation to look forward to,” he said. “I’m sure the Tartan Army will be in Germany in their numbers and we’re all buzzing for it. Of course, it’s just the provisional squad at the moment, but I’d love to be there.
“There are all different scenarios. Callum [McGregor] is a real stalwart, captain of us [Celtic] and a real leader in the national team as well. Then there’s a club legend like Jamesy [Forrest] who has had a really strong finish to the season and managed to get himself there.
“Tony [Ralston] is just the model professional. He’s an unbelievable person but it’s also important to realise how good a player Tony is as well. I’m sure that’s why he’s in the squad, Steve Clarke really trusts him.”
