Celtic assistant manager John Collins has revealed that his team never expected the season to start on an easy note, but the gradual progress that they have made is a result of hard work from the players and the coaching staff and there is no magic trick to their success.
The Hoops have enjoyed a spectacular season, having already won the Scottish League Cup following a 2-0 defeat of Dundee United in the final at Hampden Park last month.
The reigning Scottish champions are sitting at the top of the Premiership, having taken a commanding seven-point lead over second placed Aberdeen. And the Hoops’ current run of form suggest that they are strong favourites to win their fourth successive league title.
Their strong showing this season has also made Celtic strong favourites to win the Scottish FA Cup, where they are scheduled to play their semi-final tie against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 19th April.
But for all their success, the Bhoys haven’t exactly enjoyed smooth sailing this season and Collins has accepted that, saying that it took time for the players and the staff to get used to each other and work out what worked best.
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“It was never going to be a smooth sailing at the start of the season, we knew that and obviously we all hoped and dreamed of it that it would go superbly well, but we were getting to know the players, the players were getting to know us and it takes time”, the 47-year-old said in a press conference.
“It takes time to get things in place but slowly but surely as weeks [have] gone by, months [have] gone by, we have got better, the players have got better and that’s the pleasing thing for us, when we see progress and we have seen it.”
Asked if there was a turning point in their season that has gone so superbly well for his team, Collins replied that there is no magic trick, and Celtic’s success is a result of hard work that they put in training every day.
“No [there is no turning point].
“It has just been gradual. Training properly, training hard, high tempo on the training pitch, and all of a sudden it comes into the matches.
“There are little periods in the matches; you get a five minute period, then a ten minute period, then 15, then we go back to the training pitch [and] work again.
“As every week goes by our objective is to get better, passing quicker, moving quicker, creating more chances and I have said it before there is no magic wand, it doesn’t happen overnight.
“It's hard work.”
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