David Turnbull

THIS has been something of a surreal season for David Turnbull. The Celtic players have been criticised and abused by their supporters as their hopes of making Scottish football history and completing 10-In-A-Row have withered and died. But those fans have, at the very same time, sung his praises.

The playmaker, a £3.25m acquisition from Motherwell back in August, has been a ray of light amid the gloom. Since being brought into the first team in the Europa League match against Lille in December, he has been an ever present in the starting line-up. The Premiership game against Aberdeen at Parkhead yesterday, too, was his 26th consecutive appearance.


He has scored some important and spectacular goals during that impressive run. There have been calls for many of his team mates to be shown the door as they have struggled domestically and flopped in Europe. He, meanwhile, has been tipped to force his way into the Scotland squad for the Euro 2020 finals this summer.




It has been a weird situation this year,” said Turnbull earlier this week. “On a personal level it has been good. I have got a lot of games under my belt and have had a lot of good games. It is a team game, though. We want to win every game we can and get as many good results as we can. We have not done that enough.


“Since Lille I have been involved in every game so obviously I have enjoyed that. It has been a good experience. Now I just have to look to kick on and get even more under my belt now.

“It is good getting praise, but it is about the team. It is not really about being stuck in the middle, it is just about doing your best for Celtic. As you would imagine, there have been some highs and some lows, but I have enjoyed every minute of it.”


Turnbull’s strange campaign took another twist on Wednesday when Celtic announced that Neil Lennon, the manager who signed him, had resigned and would be replaced on an interim basis by John Kennedy.

The Northern Irishman’s abilities as a coach have been called into question, despite the fact he became the first man ever to complete the treble as both a player and a manager in December, in recent weeks. But his summer signing has revealed how their one-to-one chats had helped him to finally make the breakthrough at the Scottish champions after months on the sidelines.


“He was always great with me since I first came,” he said. “After games he would take me into his office and give me wee tips here and there. How I could maybe do better and stuff like that. From the first moment he said to me to shoot from distance. He encouraged me, he must have seen that from my Motherwell days.”



Statistics published before the Aberdeen match showed that no other player aged under 23 in a top division in Europe had played as many key passes as the 21-year-old this season. He had made 76. Mason Mount, the Chelsea and England midfielder, was some way behind him with 62.


Turnbull showed he had the ability to unlock an opposition defence on numerous occasions during his time at Fir Park. But he admitted that being encouraged by Lennon to take chances in the final third had helped him.

That is my game,” he said. “I try to score as many goals as I can and create as many chances as I can. He was always stressing to be positive in terms of getting into position on the pitch to make things happen.”

Turnbull was always confident he would make a full recovery from the knee injury that scuppered his move to Celtic in 2019, get back to the level he had been at and complete his transfer to Parkhead. But he is still grateful to Lennon for returning for him last summer and was sad to see him depart.


“I thank him for bringing me here,” he said. “But the fact he did so was also down to my getting back performing well. That was what I was always aiming towards. So I do thank him for bringing me here, but I feel it is down to me as well.

“Obviously, it is not the way he would have wanted to have gone or how the players would have wanted it to happen. But as a group we need to take full responsibility for the season and the way it has gone on. I am sure the boys will do that.”


Turnbull has enjoyed working with Kennedy, who was Lennon’s assistant, and is hopeful they can show more consistent form under him between now and the end of the 2020/21 campaign and increase his chances to getting the role full-time.

“I think Kendo is a great coach,” he said. “He has been good with me since I have been here. I have loved working under him. I work with him every day. He will maybe try and implement a few wee things here and there just to get results. Hopefully we can do that under him. I think it is up to him if he wants to continue in the role.”

 

Imagine if he played the full 90 in games!.
Wonder if those stats are on a laptop somewhere

 

Brilliant player only going to get better, his 1st touch he makes space for himself always looking to play forward, built the team round him

 

Should be the unquestioned number 10 for us next year and be part of the core group we build a new team around IMHO.

 

Brilliant again! Shoukd never have been subbed off....

 

Noone was brilliant today, ffs.

He's a good player but still a lot to work on, but he's only 21 and it bodes well.

Think too many are building him up too much and expecting too much, he's only a young un let him develop.

Looks good for a goal and can pick a pass. Think he lacks a bit of pace though.

 

That's been the problem with management this season they don't see who's having a bad game and take the wrong player off and Christie should have came off and bringing Griff on with 6 minutes to go was taking the * from Kennedy * clueless .

 

Again, when we subbed him we became much more ragged..

New boss needs to build a team around him.

 

Christie left on again and Turnbull hooked is taking the *, then we had Brown taken off for Forrest ffs!

 

Aye mate, just illustrates how Lennon and Kennedy were singing from the same hymn sheet. Kennedy needs chased as soon as too.

 

Been a lot of talk about managing him and Turnbull knowing he has to come off at certain point's during game's..

We can clearly see that isn't true as he was furious today. It's ridiculous that he's practically first subbed religiously under 2 manager's now..

I can't wait to see him under a new coach..

 

The only difference I've seen in this early transition is the full back's are wide and really bomb on..

Apart from that it's near enough exactly the same. I mean he hasn't even changed the shape or personnel whatsoever. He definitely needs punted..

 

Deserved a call up more than Christie

 

Deserved a call up more than anyone that actually made the squad. DT could nutmeg every one of them with a beach ball, in a row.

 

Wonder is there any Irish in him?

 

Hands Off

 

If he played for the Huns, he has at least 2 assists today..

Welsh, Mo and Edouard headers if my memory is right..

We have a top dead ball specialist but literally with nothing to play with..

The Huns don't miss those 3 or any other's he'd put in like a Barisic..

 

His lack of pace is so frustrating. Towing a caravan.