He was the top scorer in Holland last season but Giorgos Giakoumakis wasn’t happy.
After all, despite his 26 goals for VVV Venlo, the club were relegated from the Eredivisie.
That didn’t sit well with the Greek, whose exploits in the Dutch top flight earned him a move to Celtic.
Because of that, he arrived in Glasgow with a point to prove.
He knew there would be sceptics, people doubting whether he could do it for a big club at the right end of a league table.
And after a tough start to his Hoops career, the 27-year-old has delivered.
His two goals on trophy day last week in a 6-0 mauling of Motherwell made him joint top scorer in the Premiership with 13.
In stark contrast to last term, Giakoumakis had a winner’s medal round his neck and is now looking forward to the Champions League group stage.
He’s proved to be a key player for boss Ange Postecoglou as they collected a domestic Double.
And he’s a lot more satisfied this summer than he was a year ago.
Giakoumakis said: “It’s not normal to score that amount of goals, 26, when your team gets relegated.
“Last season, I went home in the summer for my holidays and I wasn’t happy.
“I was top scorer in the Dutch league and I knew I was probably going to get a transfer out of it.
“But I still wasn’t happy.
“This year, I'm the top scorer in Scotland with goals that helped to win the title.
“Now, I feel more complete and I want to do it again next year.
“I’m happy with every goal I score for Celtic. My last goal against Motherwell wasn’t so pretty but the important thing is just to score.
“No matter how I score a goal - it doesn’t matter.
“I always want to improve every part of my finishing. So whatever way the ball comes to me, I can score.
“If it’s my leg, my head or a bicycle kick like last week, I have to be ready.
“I have to feel comfortable in myself to think that I can score at any time.”
Refreshingly, Giakoumakis is open enough to speak his mind.
But his honesty caused a bit of a stir back in February when he confidently declared that Celtic were the best team in the country bar none.
They’d just beaten rivals Rangers to go top of the league but it was a bold claim with the title race just hotting up.
He’s been vindicated, of course, by Postecoglou’s relentless charge towards the league flag.
He admits that he feels relieved to have been proved right.
And he hailed his manager for getting him to Parkhead in the first place.
Giakoumakis said: “It’s a big satisfaction for me. Just to be clear, I did not want at any time to offend anyone.
“I didn’t want to have a fight with someone or say something spicy.
“I just said what I was thinking about my team and tried to be honest.
“Thank God we are the winners! It’s something I expected to happen because we have played the best football in the league, in most of the games.
“So now we can enjoy what we did over this year.
“The manager has been crucial for me. When I was about to sign for Celtic, I had offers but I had to think about everything.
“You cannot deny this club. But you have to think about every part when making your choice.
“We had a chat and straight away, he convinced me that I had to come here.
“And he was right, I DID have to come here.
“When I was injured this season, I was putting pressure on myself because I hadn’t proved myself in Scotland yet.
“But told me to stay calm, keep believing in myself and said that whenever I came back I’d be crucial for the team.”
And along with Kyogo Furuhashi up front, Giakoumakis has been vital for Postecoglou’s side.
He’s been delighted with his first season in Scotland but insists a full pre-season, which he didn’t get a year ago, can make him even better next term.
He can’t wait to sample the Champions League at Parkhead - and revealed he’s trying to convince on-loan Portuguese winger Jota to join him by signing a permanent deal this summer.
Giakoumakis said: “I feel proud to be top scorer because I had a really difficult first six months here.
“That part of the season was not what I expected so I didn’t play that much.
“To finish as top scorer is important to me. I’m really happy but I wish we had 10 minutes more in the last game because I don’t like to share it (with Regan Charles-Cook of Ross County)!
“Getting a pre-season will help me because I need to be healthy, fit and myself.
“If I can be myself, I can score a lot of goals to help this team.
“I never have a number in mind but in every game, whether I start or not, I want to score. That’s my target.
“The service to me is important. That’s why I’ve told Jota already.
“When we were celebrating last week I said: “I wish you would stay here because we really need you’.
“We’re looking forward to the Champions League. I’ve already experienced it with AEK Athens in my career and it was unbelievable.
“But playing Champions League for Celtic, listening to that anthem in our stadium, it’s going to be massive. I can’t wait.”
