Extra-Time Winner

- Mark Henderson

IT’S approaching four in the afternoon and Dedryck Boyata is the only Celtic player left at Lennox town. This isn’t unusual.

Once training is completed at lunchtime, the Belgian defender heads to the gym alongside a number of his team-mates to ensure he is in the best possible condition for whatever challenges lie ahead.

This professionalism and dedication shouldn’t come as a surprise. Back in January, just as Boyata broke back into the team after only making one appearance in the opening six months of the campaign, he famously revealed he had been hitting the treadmill at midnight when not featuring in midweek matches.

The 26-year-old wanted to guarantee his readiness to stake a claim when a chance arose, and his attitude hasn’t altered since becoming a regular in the side in the second half of the season. He has no plans to stop.

“I am not here to give lessons to anyone,” he told the View in an exclusive interview. “But it’s difficult to be out the side for any reason, so I just made sure I was ready for the opportunity when it came and that’s what I did. My goal was to stay there and play as well as I could so to be part of the team just now feels like a good achievement. But it’s all about consistency and keeping going, that’s what great players do. I have been through a bad moments and now I’m going through a better moment and I just want to stay here.

“There are players who don’t like going to the gym and doing certain things but they are still very good. Personally, if I don’t go, I won’t feel good. I’m not saying going to the gym is all about doing weights, it’s about everything – maintaining your muscles, such as working on your hamstrings.