AUSTON Trusty has revealed how the impromptu Huddle which the Celtic players formed during their Champions League encounter with Club Brugge tonight gave them the wake-up call they needed and helped to spark their fightback.
And the centre-half revealed that he and his team mates had all let Cameron Carter-Vickers know they were firmly behind him after the own goal he scored to give the visitors the lead in the league phase match at Parkhead.
The Scottish champions' players come together as a team to listen to a pep talk from their captain Callum McGregor before kick-off in every game – but this evening they did so immediately after their opponents had gone ahead for the first time ever.
However, Trusty, the United States internationalist who moved to Glasgow from Sheffield United in a £6m transfer during the summer, felt that it helped the hosts, who equalised through Daizen Maeda in the second half and drew the match 1-1, to regroup.
“They are clearly a good side,” he said. “We didn't start off as strong, as fast as we normally do, so they kind of got on top of us in the first half. But in the second half we changed things and we saw how the game shifted into our favour.
“We just weren't playing in our character in the first half, so I think we all felt it. Sometimes you need that little huddle to wake everybody up and say, ‘Okay, what's happened has happened, now we can move on from it’. So that was a moment for us to make some changes and get some momentum back in the game."
Asked what the message to Carter-Vickers had been, Trusty said: “We have his back. I don't think any defender, any player, wants that to happen to him. But, you know, sometimes it's part of football. I've had own goals as well, so it's one where you need a team mate to get your back.
“The game happened so fast, so I'm not in that position. I'm looking away, I'm also looking, I'm trying to find my next pass as well. So I have to go back and watch it. But either way, he made the decision and we have his back.
“So I went over to him, made sure his head was up. With all of us, he knows that we have his back. You don't want to make mistakes, but you feel fine to make mistakes, because you know your team mates have your back.
“I haven't been here for the whole time he's been here, but I don't think anybody would try to do that or let that happen. But we bounced back. He showed his character and also the team showed its character. We bounced back and the game went on and we had plenty of life left in it.”
Trusty also revealed the Celtic players had been angry that they failed to beat Brugge and pick up another three Champions League points when they returned to their dressing room at full-time – even though the draw kept them in the top 24 of the table and on course for the knockout round play-off.
“I've been in locker rooms when you get away from this kind of game and guys are excited,” he said. “But you go back in the locker room tonight and see guys p****d off and really, really upset and that shows a lot of the character that’s in the team.
“We weren't happy with how we played in the first half, but we thought that we should have won this game and it was a real opportunity for us, not just to get one point but to get three points. Obviously, you take the point, but it's good to see that guys are angry going into the locker room and sitting there just quiet.
“That's the level we play at and that's the level of the team. When we train, it’s the same level. We have to keep it that way because if you make a mistake, you may do something and you get punished. Even in training, it’s just as intense as the games, if not more intense.
“We train that way and that's the level we're at and I think we've shown that we have the quality and we can play with any team and we back ourselves. We're confident and the team's confident. We know our ability and we've shown to you guys but also shown to ourselves that we're here. So we’re in good shape.”
