Some players walk through the doors at Celtic Park and the pressure hits them like a dose of the bends.
Sead Haksabanovic strolled up the steps and could sense that crushing weight of expectation and demand from a support who have grown used to stockpiling silverware. But the Montenegrin wide man felt right at home. Haksabanovic knows what is required in these parts, where trophies are demanded on tap and even victories have to be achieved with a certain style.
And that’s just fine with him. The 23-year-old has spent much of his career wanting Europe in search for his perfect fit. It hasn’t come easy. He was snapped up from his Swedish village as a kid by West Ham but couldn’t quite make the breakthrough. There were loan spells in Spain and in his homeland, a big-money move to Russia with Rubin Kazan that became complicated when global politics muscled their way in.
Celtic offered him a way out and a fresh start – and a way of thinking that suits him to the ground. Haksabanovic said: “When I came to Celtic there was a winning spirit. You know how important it is at Celtic to win. You can feel it when you come in.
“Do some players struggle with that? I love it. Simple as that. You want to be the best you can be so you have to have that mentality.”
Haksabanovic has it too. He’ has been limited to impressive cameos in recent months after a spell out injured but he’s already sampled success in the Viaplay Cup win and he’s hungry for more. Talking about trebles can sometimes earn a player a slide-tackle from a club press officer but the winger said: “The League Cup Final was amazing.
"I loved every second of the game. There is space in my cupboard for more medals because I only have one!
“As a player this is what we want, we want to win games, win trophies and medals. We have one so far and now we have the chance for two more.
“But we have to take it one game at a time and work hard in training as that’s where everything starts. We must stay focused and do what the manager asks of us.”
Haksabanovic has perhaps not had the minutes on the pitch he would have wanted this season. He arrived without much of a pre-season and an injury picked up before the new year came at a time he was starting to look the business.
In recent weeks he’s become a greater presence from the bench and there’s a growing call from the stands to see more. Haksabanovic is determined but happy to follow his manager’s orders. He’s only in his first season of a five-year deal and admits he’s feeling settled in the city.
He added: “It’s been very nice. I am good with the boys, we can go out for dinner sometimes and I can have my girlfriend here and family over. I am used to living away from home so it’s very chilled. After training I mostly take it easy because we train hard. But I am enjoying Glasgow.”
Haksabanovic certainly enjoyed his stunning goal against Hearts the other night, when he cut inside and curled one into the top corner to seal the 3-1 victory. It wasn’t perfect at Parkhead and Haksabanovic knows Celtic will need to crank up a gear when the sides clash again in Gorgie tomorrow in the last eight of the Scottish Cup.
He said: “I would say it was okay, not great. But you have these kinds of games, you cannot play great every time. Some days it’s just okay but we still get the job done and we win.
“We are happy with the three points and we move on. We can take confidence from the things we do well in the games. I don’t know how many games we have left in the league but we are focusing on the next one on Saturday against Hearts again. After that we will see.”
Haksabanovic’s gaffer Ange Postecoglou was thrilled to see his sub scoring – and even more delighted to see another three names hitting the net on top of the five separate scorers at St Mirren last weekend. Daizen Maeda and Kyogo turned around the early Josh Ginnelly setback but the Celtic manager loves the fact rival sides face a frantic game of whack-a-mole when they come up against his team.
The Aussie said: “It’s important. Obviously Kyogo gets a lot of goals but we want to be a team with multiple threats.
“Since the World Cup we’ve made slight adjustments to the way we go into the final third and it’s allowing other players to get into advanced positions. That’s why we’ve been sharing around the goals. Having multiple threats gives the opposition plenty to worry about.
“We weren’t brilliant the other night but scoring three goals, we don’t take that for granted. The group has been really strong for a very long time.
“In the back of your mind you always understand they are human beings and they will have off days. I haven’t seen it though. Like the other night, they might not have been at their best but no one could say they didn’t put in a shift.
“They still find the mentality to get the win and to win convincingly. Credit to them. All they are thinking about is going into Saturday’s game and making sure we perform at our best to advance to the next round of the Cup.”
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