Celtic’s Elhamed happy to be trusted on the big occasion

Right-back desperate to realise Champions League dream

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 07: Hatem Abd Elhamed during a Celtic training session at Lennoxtown on August 7, 2020, in Glasgow, Scotland. 07/08/20 - Celtic Training (Ross Parker / SNS Group)

The significance of Hatem Abd Elhamed’s impressive 90 minutes in the 6-0 drubbing of Reykjavik on Tuesday night was perhaps not immediately apparent. However, the Champions League qualifier represented the Arab-Israeli’s first start for the club in more than nine months.

It was fitting it should come in continental competition. Ahead of last night’s encounter at Tannadice, Elhamed’s last four Celtic starts had all been in Europe. The groin injury he sustained in the famous Rome triumph over Lazio in early November sidelined him for four months. It meant his return as a late substitute against St Mirren came just as football was closed down by the coronavirus pandemic in early March.

Now the right-back wants to put a difficult first season in Glasgow behind him, with a yearning that the Champions League group stages are in front of him – the tilt to reach that promised land going on the line at home to Ferencvaros in a second qualifying round knock-out tie on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old’s power and poise ensure he is a player Neil Lennon considers he can rely upon for the big occasion.

“To play in the Champions League would achieve my biggest dream because I want it so much. I was so close with my ex-team [Hapoel Be’er Sheva] but we lost in the play-off [to Maribor], so it would be fantastic to be in the group stage for the first time in my career,” said Elhamed, pictured, a 
£1.6 million summer signing in 2019.

“I came to Celtic and started my career here very good and I was happy for three months, then I had bad luck and got a big injury against Lazio and then I didn’t start an official game until the last game [before lockdown] so it was very strange for me because I’d never had such a large time out.

“It was almost ten months without a start and playing football. I played 30 minutes against Kilmarnock and that was good to get me ready to start in the Champions League. It was a good feeling for me and gave me confidence to go again and show my best.

“The manager has told me that I am an experienced player and I have many qualities that he likes, so, yes, he trusts me in the big games and the big nights. I am happy that I show him again and again that I deserve his trust. I am looking forward to playing good again, to keep myself fit and have a good season free of injury.”