WHEN it comes to winning over supporters, there are certain basic dos and don’ts that a footballer can follow. Scoring crucial goals, especially those that are easy on the eye, would certainly be beneficial. Sticking your fingers in your ears after smashing such a goal into the net at home, probably would not.
David Turnbull has skirted both sides of that line over the past two games, scoring important long-range strikes against St Mirren and Ross County, but letting the Celtic supporters know exactly what he thought of their criticism of him after the strike against Saints. Or, at least, that is the way his gesture has been interpreted.
The 24-year-old’s future is a hot topic at the moment, with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers stating that the ball is firmly in Turnbull’s court. He would like to keep him in his squad, but he hinted at some hesitation from the midfielder’s side to commit to another contract at a club where he might not play as regularly as he wants to.
Turnbull has now had his own say publicly on the issue, his words rather more diplomatic than his gesture last week, as he outlined that he is leaving his contract issue in the hands of his representatives and the club.
And just as he is trying to ignore those discussions that are going on in the background, he tries to blank the flak that can fly when his performances don’t reach the heights that he is capable of. He admits to some frustration that he is cut a little less slack though, perhaps, than some others.
“Yeah, it's one of those ones,” Turnbull said.
“I scored a goal, I was delighted, but sometimes boys get a little bit of criticism here and there.
“You try and block it out as much as you can, so that’s what I was trying to do.
“To be honest, I just leave [my future] to the club and the others that are involved with it.
“I just try and do my talking on the pitch and try to focus on my own game. I'm not too focused on that at the moment.
“You can overthink things in life, in football as well especially, so it's just about focusing on each game at a time.
“We've got a lot of games coming thick and fast, so we’re just focusing on all of them.
“[I was] pleased with the goal and my performance [in Dingwall]. I felt like I did well, I tried to get on the ball and create chances as they were tough to break down, but we got there in the end comfortably.”
Turnbull’s technical talent has never been in question, with the stick he receives seeming to stem from a perception that he slows the game down too much, and isn’t a natural fit for Celtic’s slick style of play.
He feels though he still has lots to offer to the club.
“Yeah definitely,” he said.
“Every game that I play, I want to give my all and try to create and score chances for the team, and that’s what I'm going to continue to try and do.”
Whether that will be enough to earn a place in the starting XI for Tuesday night’s Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid remains to be seen.
The injury to Reo Hatate has left a vacant space in Celtic’s midfield trio, with captain Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley nailed on certainties to be handed a jersey.
In the first meeting between the sides, in which Hatate sustained his injury early on, it was the energy of Paulo Bernardo that was preferred by Rodgers, with the Portuguese midfielder acquitting himself well having been thrown into the action unexpectedly.
Odin Thiago Holm and Tomoki Iwata are also waiting in the wings, but Turnbull is hoping that his two goals in the last two games will persuade his manager to trust him in the Metropolitano Stadium.
“I want to be in there and I've tried to do myself no harm,” he said.
“It's the manager's decision obviously on Tuesday, so it's down to him, but if I'm called upon I’ll give it my best shot.
“Once you get in the team you need to take your chance. There's a lot of competition for places but once you're in there you need to nail down your spot and I'm just trying to do that in every game I'm in.
“It's a huge game. A great game to go into, away to Atletico Madrid.
“We’re looking forward to it and we really need to get the result. It's a huge game, so hopefully we can do that.”
That first game, the pulsating 2-2 draw at a heaving Celtic Park, certainly hasn’t harmed Celtic’s self-belief, with Turnbull saying that they will travel to Madrid in a positive frame of mind, and without any inferiority complex.
“In that game – especially in the first half – we played really well,” he said.
“They came into it a wee bit more in the second half but they're a top side, so we've done well to nullify what they’ve got and showed what we can do as well.
“It's good to see the progression from the start of last year in the Champions League. We can compete with these sides; we've shown it on plenty of occasions. We’ll be going into it with confidence and try to play our own game.
“We know that if you make mistakes then you get punished nine times out of ten off of these top sides. It's all about our attacking play and defensively being organised, and not conceding too many goals.”
