Armstrong relishing start of Euro adventure
六月 29, 2015 2:00 am
STUART Armstrong was given a further reminder of the scale of the Celtic support during a close-season trip to New York with flat-mate Gary Mackay-Steven.
The Bhoys, who joined the club six months ago on transfer deadline day from Dundee United, were sitting having a coffee in the Big Apple when they spotted a passer-by sporting the new Celtic New Balance home kit.
And they decided to run outside and give the unsuspecting Celtic fan the surprise of his life.
It was quite surreal, said Armstrong. We were just sitting in a coffee shop and we saw a guy outside with the new Celtic top on.
For a laugh, we thought we would say hello and Gaz put on the worst American accent I have ever heard in my life.
For a moment, I dont think he knew who we were and then he realised and we had a nice little conversation.It was his birthday and he had got his top for his birthday, so we had a good chat and it did hit home that Celtic are a worldwide club.
Armstrong, Mackay-Steven and the remainder of the first-team squad who werent away on international duty during June returned to pre-season training on Tuesday.They will be joined by the rest of their colleagues, which include the likes of captain Scott Brown, on Monday.
Preparations are now beginning in earnest for the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, with Icelandic outfit FC Stjarnan providing Celtics first test in the second qualifying round.
And Armstrong is relishing the challenge of helping the club return to the lucrative group stages of the competition.
The holidays went very quickly but its good to be back. The Champions League games are coming quite quickly, but we have a couple of friendlies building up to that and training is resuming as it finished.
“We are back into the swing of things. We are feeling good and focused on getting our fitness back.
In football, it takes you a week or two to get back into your fitness. You dont get a very long break at all, especially with the boys playing international football, so we will find our feet pretty quickly.
You grow up watching Champions League games and those are the ones you want to play in. We had a little taster of European football last season and I want more.
These are very important games, there is no doubt about that, but its more excitement rather than pressure for us.
“The Champions League is a good stage and it gives you a good chance to get a lot of good experiences. Playing at that level will improve any players and it’s a great opportunity to experience different countries, stadia and atmospheres.
“That’s the ultimate goal but it’s a tough ask for any club to reach that stage.”
