This interview is quite bizarre.
On a scale of 1-10 this was a 12 on the ‘How to end your Celtic career in one interview’.
And the player in question?
Vasilis Barkas.
Hear me out. Let me start by saying that I was probably one of the only ones hoping that Barkas went on loan, proved us all wrong and showed us that there is a goalkeeper in there somewhere.
I genuinely did because you don’t become an international keeper one day and then all of a sudden become a bad one almost overnight.
From the minute he signed, Barkas looked the shadow of the goalie he so promised to be.
Signed in a blaze of glory as one of the players who should have carried us to the ten in a row, the big Greek star just failed to show any glimpses or signs as to why Celtic shelled out the guts of £5m for him.
Yes, COVID must have played a part in his demise at Celtic as many of the players signed at that time failed to settle at the club. Whether that was due to enforced isolation from everyday normality and from the dressing room where most bonds are created between players, we will never know.
But it seems Barkas has found happiness at his new club, FC Utrecht and I am genuinely happy for him, but his recent interview in De Telegraaf via Football Scotland, means that for me, his Celtic career should be over.
Barkas said of his time so far in the Netherlands, “I enjoy it here and I feel at home. My family is having fun too.
“I also enjoy the fans in Stadion Galgenwaard.
“They are crazy.
“I don’t feel any pressure. I have a contract until the end of the season.”
‘I don’t feel any pressure.’ That one statement alone tells me that Barkas is simply not cut out for the cut throat life in Glasgow.
Where winning is everything, second is last and pressure is part of everyday life, it seems that the Greek star is simply not suited for a club like Celtic.
And, for me, that means there is no way back for him.
And there is no shame in that.
Barkas won’t be the first that has struggled to cope with the demands at Celtic, you can be sure he won’t be the last.