THERE remains much for Greg Taylor and his Celtic team mates to keep playing for even though they wrapped up a second successive Scottish title with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday.
If they win their final four league fixtures they will set a new cinch Premiership points record of 107 and eclipse the total of 106 achieved by Brendan Rodgers’ all-conquering Invincibles back in 2017.
Then there is the Scottish Cup final at Hampden against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday, June 3. If they beat their second tier rivals in that encounter they will rack up their fifth treble in seven years.
As he looked back on another successful league campaign following a training session at Lennoxtown yesterday, Taylor stressed that nobody at Celtic will be hitting the town to celebrate quite yet.
But the left back, who has been one of Ange Postecoglou’s most consistent players both at home and abroad during the 2022/23 campaign, knows that everyone in the East End of Glasgow will be hungry for more success if they do meet their objectives.
He firmly believes the newly crowned Scottish champions can - even though they have only lost one domestic fixture, a Premiership match against St Mirren in Paisley in September, all term – perform even better in future.
“We’ve not rested at all on what we did last season,” he said. “We knew there was more in us. And there’s still more to come. We want to improve going into next season.
“But, most importantly, we want to finish this season strongly first. We’ve four league games and a cup final, so we’ve got more to look forward to.
“We will focus on the first one (Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday) because if you look too far ahead that’s when you can slip up. You can’t get ahead of yourself. It’s something we’ve not done throughout the whole season.
“We’re all so driven, we’re all keen for success. We believe in every word the gaffer says to us. We know it’s going to help us and stand us in good stead. It’s been a really successful season thus far but there’s still more to come.”
Taylor’s position in the Celtic starting line-up appeared to be under threat last summer when the Parkhead club paid £3.75m for Argentinian left back Alexandro Bernabei.
However, the Scotland internationalist has arguably enjoyed the best form of his career this season and is one of the first names down on the team sheet on match days as a result.
The 25-year-old fully expects his manager to strengthen his squad further this summer. He believes, though, that competition for places is healthy and hopes that more is to come from him personally as well as his side in future.
“I aim to improve as I go along,” he said. “Hopefully thus far it’s been my best level, but hopefully there’s more to come for me and also the team.”
“There’s always going to be people coming for your position. But it’s not about that, it’s about grafting when you’re selected and taking your opportunity. There’s been so many boys who have contributed.
“I would say me and Bern have contributed throughout the season. There’s been different times when either of us have played. But it’s a squad game, especially now when you play in the Champions League and you play 38 league games and cup games. You need everyone and I think that’s been shown this year.”
Taylor acknowledged that Kyogo Furuhashi, who became the first Celtic player to score 30 goals in a season since Moussa Dembele back in 2017 when he opened the scoring against Hearts on Sunday, has been a stand-out performer and is a strong contender to pick up the individual awards which will soon be handed out.
Asked for one word to describe the Japanese striker, he said: “One word? Impossible. The guy’s frightening. It’s not just his goals, it’s his work for the team. I don’t know if he’ll get it, but he’d be a right contender and probably deserved Player of the Year in my opinion.”
I didn’t even know he got a touch for the goal on Sunday. There you go. But I’m not surprised. He does that kind of finish constantly. What a player! He’s a great team-mate, always willing to work for the team. So, unbelievable.”
Up until Furuhashi broke the deadlock in Gorgie, Celtic had endured a difficult afternoon. Taylor feels the outing underlined just how demanding it is to win the Premiership.
“There’s been points in the season it’s been difficult, of course it has,” he said. “But winning leagues and trophies, it’s never easy.
“You can’t forget when you go out for every match that it’s not just you who wants to win, the other team’s so desperate for points and success. It speaks volumes how good the boys have been.”
“There have been difficult moments throughout last year and this year. But just having such a strong squad has been the real reason for success. Everyone’s played their part and I’m really proud of everyone.
“Tynecastle’s such a difficult venue. You saw Hearts, I thought they started really well and Tynecastle fans got right behind them. They cheer every throw-in, anything, to be honest. It was a difficult game. But to stand tough and find a way of winning was just unbelievable.”
