'Do some players struggle?'- Sead Haksabanovic opens up on Celtic game-time and pressure to win

Sead Haksabanovic had it planned. He was going to score. Peeling left into space, he was fed by Alexandro Bernabei. It was then a case of cutting in, away from Nathaniel Atkinson and Orestis Kiomourtzoglou and curling a lovely effort past Zander Clark to make it Celtic 3–1 Hearts.

“I knew before I got the ball I was going to go inside and try to score,” the Montenegrin admitted. “I was very happy. I have been getting closer. I was close a couple of times against Rangers and now I have scored. Hopefully now I can keep doing it.”

The 23-year-old is another example of Celtic's impressive depth. He was finding form prior to the World Cup break but has “had a couple of disruptions through the year where he’s not had an extended run in the team because of a couple of injuries or other players doing really well in his position...but he’s doing really well in training ," as manager Ange Postecoglou said. Now he’s primed to play a big part with Daizen Maeda potentially joining James Forrest on the sidelines.

“He’s doing well,” his manager said. “I know people get fixated on starts but I get fixated on guys contributing. Sead is certainly doing that. He’s contributing every time he’s been on. If the opportunity arises for him to start then I’m sure he’ll do well. That’s not the most important thing for me, it’s him contributing to the side.

“All of a sudden we have gone from five wingers to three. That’s why we have these guys ready to play and I’m sure Haksa will be ready to do that.”

‘Space in my cupboard’

Haksabanovic revealed he is “enjoying” life in Glasgow and has set his sights on more trophies after getting a taste of that winning feeling as a substitute in the Viaplay Cup final win over Rangers, but will continue to “take it one game at a time” in his search for more opportunities.

"It doesn’t matter if I get five minutes, half an hour or I start, I want to do my stuff and show that I want to play in this team,” he said. “I want to play every game. I’m not going to say I don’t want to play. But I also know we have great players in this team. If I don’t play, then I don’t play, but I know I am going to focus on coming in. I have to be ready for when I start. The key at the moment is this is a young squad and everyone wants to get their chance to prove themselves.”

Celtic's Sead Haksabanovic celebrates after scoring in the 3-1 win over Hearts. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

He added: “There is space in my cupboard for more medals because I only have one! As a player this is what we want – we want to win games, win trophies and medals. We have one so far and now we have the chance for two more. We must stay focused and do what the manager asks of us.

“When I came to Celtic there was a winning spirit. You know how important it is at Celtic to win. You can feel it when you come in. Do some players struggle with that? I love it. Simple as that. You want to be the best you can be, so you need to have that mentality.”