Marian Shved says a broken promise from Neil Lennon ruined his chance to make a proper mark at Celtic.
Ahead of Wednesday's reunion, the Shakhtar Donetsk star has lifted the lid on the frustrations he felt at the old boss’ failure to give him a genuine Parkhead chance. Shved signed in January 2019 when Brendan Rodgers was the manager, yet even his lukewarm response to the transfer didn’t bode well and he was immediately loaned back to Karpaty Lviv.
By the time he got to Glasgow in the summer, Rodgers had already jumped ship for Leicester and things barely got better. He scored on debut against Nomme Kalju, but made just two more appearances as he was stuck on the sidelines by Lennon. In Warsaw, it’s not a case of Shved settling scores with Celtic. The winger is not bitter. He enjoyed his overall club experience too much to think in those terms. However, that does not mean Shved won’t be motivated to show that he was worthy of the opportunities he says he was promised by Lennon and didn’t get.
Shved explained: “I remember once I sat with the coach and the president ( Peter Lawwell ) to discuss the situation because I hadn’t played in maybe half a year. The coach said, ‘Yes, of course, I think I will give you chances to play’.
“We shook hands together, but after this I didn’t play in the team. Celtic at this time had very good results. All the time they were winning. The president supported me. That’s very true. Maybe the president couldn’t say anything to the coach because they had good results. Maybe that is why there was no change. It was still frustrating. I was training very well and tried to show that I could play but it didn’t happen. The problem is that he (Lennon) promised me, but nothing happened and nothing changed.”
Shved’s lack of action doesn’t lead to regrets about his decision to join Celtic as he explained: “It happened, so you can’t change anything. It was only the decision of the coach. It wasn’t a decision of the club or the supporters, but it’s difficult to say how this happened. I knew the coach had changed. It doesn’t matter who is the new coach, when you go to a new team you have to show your best conditions in training.
“Of course, maybe if it was another coach, it would have been a different situation. Maybe I would have played more often but it’s happened. Now it’s history. Celtic is a really big club and, when the coach and the club wanted to make the transfer happen, it was okay.
“Maybe I made some mistakes, but if I had to go back to that time, I would have made the same decision because it was a great experience and it was good for my career. When I was transferred to Celtic, it was a step ahead for me. I think a lot about this club only in good, positive things.
“I liked it. I liked the city, the supporters. Celtic is a big club and it helped me in every detail. I have only positive things to say about them.” Despite his enjoyment of the surroundings, the lack of playing time had to change. The 25-year-old moved to Mechelen on loan and eventually joined the Belgians permanently before returning to his native Ukraine in the summer to join Shakhtar.
During his time in Glasgow, he’d lunch with neighbours such as Moritz Bauer and Boli Bolingoli, but now he’s gorging at Europe’s top table. Once labelled a spectacular talent, Shved has now displayed it at the very highest level.
Two goals against RB Leipzig last week helped him and his team make an incredible Group F statement as they demolished the Germans on their own soil.
Shved said: “It was a surprise for everyone, but we deserved to win. Maybe Leipzig controlled the game, but we played with our hearts.
“This is the Champions League. We play against Celtic, Real Madrid and Leipzig. These are our opponents. “We will try to beat them, that’s our key goal and we will do everything to achieve that.”
The words tell you this is big for Shved. It’s big for his club and it’s big for his county. Shakhtar have been nomads for eight years due to conflict. Unable to play in their own stadium.
But Shved had no hesitation to sign as he said: “My family live in a place where it is safe and normal. Of course, when the war started, it was something I was worried about, but now it is okay.
“We have a lot of people from different parts of Ukraine who support us. They come from Donetsk, Kharkiv, Lviv, Kiev and other cities and we feel this support.
“We are not only a club from one city, we represent Ukraine in this match and we play for Ukraine. It’s very difficult because we know we have a lot of transfers between the matches, but we think about winning. We play for our country and for our people. We fight on the pitch the same as our defenders [army] do.
“When you go to the pitch you have to concentrate on the football. For us that is very important.”
For now, that concentration is focused on Celtic and the chance to make another major statement at Europe’s highest level.
Shved said: “I played at Celtic, of course. That’s why this game means something specific to me. But it’s also a game like the others because it’s a very important one for the team. It’s the Champions League and we understand the level of this match.”
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