Dane Murray has spoken out about Martin O'Neill's trust in him and how he deals with playing for a massive club like Celtic.
The academy graduate earned his plaudits after a fantastic performance in the 1-0 victory over Stuttgart in the second leg of the Europa League. He was trusted to start against Rangers in the league match, and now, he has revealed his thoughts on becoming a squad regular.
Murray said to The Celtic Way:
"It's been good. It's been a bit hectic the last few weeks, but I'm just enjoying it. You just need to be ready for it. In training, you just have to stay on it and make sure you're ready.
If you make a mistake, you just have to deal with it. Just come in here, stick to your normal routine, and don't let it affect you too much. Now, the full focus is on the next few games and going to try and win them.
Recently, we've had the momentum on our side, so it's now just about riding that wave and taking it into every game."
Speaking on the manager's trust in him, he said:
"That’s what you want as a player. You want to feel like you can be trusted to go into those tough moments. For me, anyway, some have gone well, some have gone not so well, but still loving every minute."
A good option for the Celts
Murray was selected to face Hearts at Tynecastle in October, and in that game, he made a few mistakes that were spoken about post-match. He was trusted in a massive game, and although he did make errors, he has shown that he has the right mentality, as he has been able to bounce back from a bad performance.
It's simply the game of football. He has had many highs and many lows, as has the club itself. The suspension of Auston Trusty really paved the way for the defender to work his way back into the squad during O'Neill's second term as manager, and to be honest, it's been deserved.
He earned the right to start at Ibrox after that performance in Germany, and in the cup match, he made a vital block and contributed massively.
He has been somewhat unlucky that Benjamin Arthur has performed as well as he has since coming into the squad, but having Murray on the bench is a massive positive for a Celtic side who are doing their best to win the title.