Theatre Of Dreams

Moritz Bauer felt the impact of Paradise on Sunday and enjoyed the experience both on and off the pitch

- Tony Connelly

COMPETITION for a regular place in the Celtic team is as intense as it’s ever been, which has heightened the pressure to capitalise on playing opportunities when they arise. Moritz Bauer seized his chance in his first start, and he believes the competition in the squad will help each of the players push themselves further than they thought possible.

Neil Lennon gave Bauer his first start on Sunday in Celtic’s 3-1 in over Kilmarnock at Paradise and the Swiss-born Austrian internationalist showed why the manager had selected him.

Playing in the right-back position, Bauer impressed with a combination of his attacking play and defensive duties. The fans showed their appreciation for his, and the rest of the Celtic side’s performance, by creating the kind of positive atmosphere which players thrive off of, even when Kilmarnock snatched the lead in the first half.

“It’s a great arena and very historic,” said the 27-year-old. “It felt very special to walk in there and it also felt like an honour. To walk into such a historic place like Celtic Park is great. The stadium looked full and the atmosphere created by the fans was like a 12th man.

“That makes a difference for us as players and I know I felt it myself. When we went 1-0 down it still felt positive and the fans in the stands were very supportive. I didn’t feel any negative energy and that helped us a lot, it showed us that they trusted us and believed we would get the job done.

“We felt we had been playing well and they had only one or two counter-attacks. We were in the game and kept the ball well. We just weren’t clinical enough in front of goal, but we had the confidence that we could come back. There’s really good quality in the squad and so many players have been scoring recently, so we always feel like we have several options to score.