The international break tends to be a departure from the norm at Celtic, with so many of the club’s players off representing their countries. However, for new Bhoy, Luke McCowan, the past week has still been a bit of a whirlwind for the 26-year-old following his transfer deadline day move to the Hoops. To put things into perspective, he was a Dundee player when he watched the UEFA Champions League draw, and he was a Celtic player by the time fixtures were actually released about 36 hours later. And the day after that, the midfielder was making his Celtic debut – in a 3-0 derby day win no less. So when asked how the week has gone since then, he answered: “Probably a bit hectic as you can imagine, but really, really smoothly, though, even if it has been hectic. “The boys and the staff and everybody at the club have been unbelievable with me. ‘It’s been something that I dreamed of as wee boy, coming here and getting the chance to play for this club, it’s everything I could have imagined so far.’ “There’s a lot of hard work, of course, but the week’s been good and everything’s going smoothly.” The Greenock Bhoy is living the dream as a Hoops player, his debut couldn’t have been sweeter and he was level-headed about what he took from the derby. He said: “A lot of trust from the manager was the main thing. After the game I thanked him for putting that trust in me. “It was incredible, coming on to a noise like that was amazing. “But it was just another game really and I knew that I had to go on and be concentrated, and try to make as few mistakes as possible after getting about four hours’ sleep, which wasn’t the best’ “But you know your job and when you’re in the environment, it’s serious mode on. You don’t really think you’re a fan, or on cloud nine, it’s just the hard work starting and that’s the kind of mind-set to go on.”There will be a lot to play for over the coming weeks and months, and McCowan is being practical about his personal goals in the Hoops. He said: “Early doors you just want to play as many minutes as you can. The standard in here is the best in the country, it’s a Champions League team. “I just know that it takes a lot of hard work to get into the team, I know it takes a lot of hard work to push players for their places, and that’s what I want to do in the future. “It’s about learning right now, finding my feet and doing the usual stuff when you go to a new team – that will be the mind-set just now.” Playing for a Champions League team means the high possibility of playing Champions League games, and that is something that could happen for the new Bhoy as early as next week. He said: “That’s a bit surreal. This year I’ll probably get a lot of first-time things happening at the club – like making my debut, and if I get a chance to play in a Champions League game then that’s another big milestone in my career.” Watch the full Luke McCowan video to hear him on: Playing under Brendan Rodgers Living the dream at Celtic Becoming a starter at the club Playing in the UEFA Champions League The challenges ahead His Celtic idols Callum McGregor
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