Auston Trusty Defends Celtic’s Title Win In Brilliant Interview
Auston Trusty has defended Celtic’s season and insisted the squad always believed they would win the league, even when others questioned whether they had the strength to get over the line.
Speaking to Burgundy Wave while away at the World Cup with the United States, the American defender was asked about Celtic’s campaign, with the suggestion put to him that, from the outside, last season had only just met expectations.
Trusty did not see it that way.
The centre-back believes the campaign showed something important about Celtic, not just because they won the title, but because they had to do it in a different way.
He said: “You may say that, but this season kind of showed what Celtic is.”
Trusty pointed to the pressure that comes with playing for a club expected to win every year, and how difficult it can be when the usual rhythm of success is disrupted.
He said: “A lot of times in football, especially fans and organisations that are used to winning the entire time, in the history of Celtic, they’ve had a great formula to have success year by year. When that formula gets messed up or messed with, you can have different results.”
Celtic’s season was not smooth. There were difficult spells, pressure from Hearts, questions over the squad and plenty of noise around the club before Martin O’Neill eventually guided the team over the line.
But Trusty believes those challenges made the title win more meaningful.
He said: “Some may view the season as a negative for Celtic, but also it was such a positive. It showed the true tenacity and willingness of a team and organisation to find a way to win.”
That line will go down well with supporters who watched Celtic dig out results when the pressure was highest.
Trusty also made it clear that belief inside the dressing room never disappeared.
He said: “Celtic is a winning culture. That’s why you go there. It really is that culture. The entire season, I knew we were going to win. We all knew we were going to win.”
The defender admitted Celtic had ups and downs, but felt the team proved they could handle a different kind of pressure.
He said: “It’s a lot easier to chase instead of be chased. We’re so used to being chased. So they flipped the script and showed ourselves that we can win the league by 20 million points if we want to, or if we need to chase the league, we can do that as well.”
For Trusty, that is why the season should not be written off as a struggle. Celtic still won, and they did it after being tested in ways they are not always used to.
He added that the drama of the title race may even have brought something back for supporters watching on.
Trusty said: “Some view it as a negative, but we view it as a positive. It was such a remarkable and amazing season.”
Celtic will want far more control next time around, but Trusty’s view gives an insight into how the players saw it from inside the dressing room. The route may have been messy, but the belief never went.
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