Scott Robertson will sit down with Ange Postecoglou this morning to be officially told he has no future at Celtic.
It’s a gut feeling the 21-year-old Hoops midfielder has had for months. Record Sport revealed earlier this week that the academy graduate won’t be offered a new deal at the end of the campaign despite being part of the first-team squad this season but without yet banking any competitive minutes.
A series of successful loan spells at English lower league clubs Gillingham, Doncaster and most recently Crewe only served to enhance the reputation of a player who is more than prepared to prove his gaffer wrong when he launches his career elsewhere. Robertson told Record Sport: “I’m weirdly looking forward to getting a new team, facing a fresh challenge and playing regularly. The manager will have a meeting with me on Thursday to tell me what’s been decided but I’m already aware of the situation.
“My agent told me last week after he’d been on a phone call with the manager and chief executive Michael Nicholson and they told him I couldn’t be guaranteed game time and there wouldn’t be a contract extension next summer. I’ve missed that feeling of getting ready for a game on a Saturday and gaining that consistency which playing week after week brings.
“Whether I move in January or in the summer remains to be seen but I’m excited about what the future will bring. It’s about waiting to see if the right club comes along and taking careful consideration of the options out there.”
Robertson was part of the Celtic squad that travelled to Australia for the recent Sydney Super Cup but he admits being on the flight didn’t delude him into believing it would alter his circumstances at the club. He said: “Going to Australia wasn’t a shot in the arm or anything like that as I’m quite switched on when it comes to the realities of football. You get a feel for how things are when you’re in training in Lennoxtown every day.
“I only played against Sydney for about 15 minutes and I don’t have any minutes for the first team this season so I had the gut feeling my time at the club was nearing an end. Now there’s so much to look forward to as a new chapter in my career is about to begin and I’m going to relish that.”
Robertson admits the rules of engagement at Celtic are about survival of the fittest and accepts becoming surplus to requirements is part of the deal for so many at such a huge club. He said: “Ever since the gaffer came into Celtic he’s spoken about trying to build something special. Part and parcel of that is bringing new players in and others will leave. It’s a brutal business and this January will see others come and go and it’s just the nature of football.
“I wouldn’t use the word ‘frustration’ over my attempts to become a first-team regular but you are always told as a young player here you need to be better than all of the players who are brought in. That’s a fact of life at a club of this size and the challenge to every academy player – and it’s easier said than done.
“You know what you are letting yourself in for and the gaffer believes he has better players than myself in the midfield positions and I need to respect that. It’s now my job to go on in my career and prove him wrong. The biggest thing for me over the last four months has been training every week and knowing it’s going to take a few injuries for me to get a first-team game. I couldn’t have asked for a better grounding.
“Playing against CFR Cluj in a Europa League group stage game under Neil Lennon in 2019 was a real highlight but I’ve got to ensure there is a new and successful chapter about to open for me. Celtic are a massive club and carry a large squad and the competition for a start is so fierce it’ll always mean it’s tough for any young player but you wouldn’t swap the chance to try and do that for anything.”
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