Stephen Welsh has been honest about his Celtic experience after his recall, as well as how much he enjoyed his first game back in a Motherwell shirt.
The Celtic defender was recalled in early January after injuries meant that Martin O'Neill was left without cover at the back. This came after Welsh enjoyed a fantastic start to the season after being sent out on loan to Motherwell. The Scotsman was flying, and Well fans were understandably disappointed at losing such an important player.
Thankfully, Celtic managed to bring Benjamin Arthur to the club on deadline day, which meant a last-minute deal to send Welsh back to Motherwell could be completed.
In his first match back under Jens Berthel Askou, Welsh scored the equaliser in a match against Rangers. The Well dominated the Gers for 90 minutes, and there's no one better than a Celtic boy to score such an important goal.
Speaking after the game about his situation, he said:
"As a footballer, that’s all you want, to play and have moments like that.
It’s no secret it’s hard to come through at a club like Celtic. To play the amount of games I have there, I’m very proud of that. But I’m a realist as well. A lot of different players came in. So I took it upon myself to go out on loan abroad last year.
When I came back, I made the decision to come here because I could see the manager’s vision. To actually come back a second time is even sweeter.
After how well we’d done before New Year, it was a big disappointment that I had to go away. To come back, have my first game and experience such a good moment is great.
There’s a lot of good players at Celtic, they’ve spent a lot of money on defenders. So I won’t make excuses. I just wanted to play football and I made that very clear to the club, and thankfully, they let me do that again.
As a footballer, you’re always trying to prove a point. It doesn’t matter who you are, even if you’re the best in the world. You still want to prove a point to someone. I feel like that’s what I’ve done."
And he's right. He has proven a point, as many people were doubting him before the season had even kicked off.
Time for Welsh to leave Celtic?
The defender has made 70 senior appearances for the Celts but has never been able to secure his place in the starting lineup. When he was left out for matches against the likes of Falkirk upon his return this season, it was clear that Welsh at Celtic is not to be.
He signed a deal in 2023 that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2027, but he may choose to leave sooner. People have said he's unlikely to give up what will undoubtedly be a very profitable contract with the top team in Scotland, but if he's serious about wanting to play regular games, a permanent move to Motherwell may be the best thing for him.
If the Well manage to keep Berthel Askou after this season, he could push the team even further. If the title race is as close as it has been this season, and Motherwell keep performing as they are, they may hope that they can partake in the race. Welsh would play a massive part in that.
No discussions have taken place over a permanent deal yet, with the interests of both parties not known.