ARNE Engels has provided an insight into the influence that Greg Taylor has at Celtic and expressed confidence that uncertainty over his future and speculation about Kieran Tierney returning to Parkhead won’t impact on the left-back’s form in the second half of the season.
Engels has been grateful to the Scotland internationalist for helping him to integrate into the squad at the Glasgow club since completing his £11m transfer from Augsburg in Germany back in August.
The Belgian midfielder is aware that Taylor, who is out of contract in the summer, has still to reach an agreement with the Scottish champions on a new deal and that Arsenal player Tierney has been linked with a return during the January transfer window.
However, he is confident the defender will be at his very best if he makes his 200th appearance for Celtic in the William Hill Premiership match against Dundee United at home this evening and is hopeful his team mate will sign an extension.
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Asked how much Taylor contributes in training and matches, he said: “A lot. I will say that it's a lot. First of all, he's a lovely guy. I'm here now for five months maybe and I really love him, how he behaves here, how he is with everybody here inside of the building.
“Second of all, he has so many qualities. You see it every time in training, but especially in the games. He's always performing on the highest level.
“He's not somebody that is going down or something. He's always performing and showing his qualities. Not one day, he's doing it every time. That's something really crazy. He knows how to win trophies also. He's really important for us."
Engels added: “It (Celtic fans chanting Tierney’s name during the win over St Mirren on Sunday) is maybe a little bit difficult for him. I think it's not nice to hear, but he's a grown man so he knows how to deal with it.
“Like I said, he's a lovely guy. He deserves to be here and he deserves to play and perform. That's the only thing I will say about it.”
Brendan Rodgers admitted he was unhappy that his side had been booed when they played a backwards pass in the first half of their 3-0 triumph at the weekend and urged supporters to be more patient.
“I like the pressure, 100 per cent,” said Engels. “It puts me on the top of my toes to perform. I think everybody has it here inside of the building. Everybody needs a bit of pressure and everybody is on top of their performance when they feel it.
“Those are also things that you see in the Champions League. When the pressure is there, everybody is standing up and performing and doing really well. It's a really nice thing to experience the pressure here and to perform.
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Engels continued: “I think it's maybe a bit normal that you start really well there and that everybody has really high expectations, but I think I'm doing really well now at the moment and that's the most important thing.
“I don't want to look back actually on how I did really great or how I did maybe a bit less great over the few weeks. It's now that it matters and not really in the past. I think I'm now showing that I'm, again, really energetic, really there. That's a positive feeling that I have right now and I hope to keep that form in the next few weeks and months.”
“But it's always nice to have a good spell and then look back on what I did really good and wow, we did this and that. The next game is what really matters and that's what you need to focus on and that's the next game against tomorrow.
“It's going to be, again, a difficult game for us and we need to focus really well for that and hopefully get the three points again in Celtic Park.”
