Gordon Strachan must have thought that Willo Flood was one for the future, given that he signed the player from Cardiff City in January yet scarcely gave him any game time in the second half of the season, but now the Irish midfielder wants to convince the new boss that he's ready for the first team now. Loan-signing Flood was a regular in Dundee United's side prior to fulfilling his boyhood dream and signing for the Celts but he admits that the harsh reality of sitting on the sidelines week after week has tarnished the dream a little.
"It is a bit frustrating at times if you go from playing week in, week out to being a bit-part player." he said. "But I'll need to keep my head down and see what happens in the next couple of weeks. I had the chance to fulfil my boyhood dream of playing for Celtic. I couldn't turn it down and have never regretted it. It's too soon to do anything right now. I'll keep my head down and hopefully catch the manager's eye. But if I'm not involved by January I will have to go and speak to the gaffer about my situation. I want to be playing."
The Manchester City game was another good runout for the fringe players against a first class side, following their magnificent display against Tottenham Hotspur, and Flood hopes his performances against quality opposition won't have gone unnoticed. "It was a good test for us." said the Dubliner. "The manager knows there is strength in depth here. He sees it on the training pitch every day. He also takes note when he sees you play like that against Spurs and Man City. The boys who have not been playing can hopefully still get in."
Willo would love to be involved in the upcoming Champions League games against Arsenal and he insists that Celtic have every chance of qualifying for the group stages of the competition. "I played against Arsenal twice when I was in England and know it will be a big test for us." he said. "But the boys showed in Moscow we can go places and get results. If we keep a clean sheet we have every chance of going through. You get jiggling in your stomach for these games. The better the opposition, the better you have to perform. But they don't have a great image of Scottish football down here. It doesn't get much publicity in the papers and it's only the Champions League nights they see on TV. It's a better standard than they think and Celtic would surprise a lot of teams in England."