DAVID TURNBULL wants to play his part in Celtic making history – but the smooth midfielder has no intention of dwelling in the past.
The Scotland Under-21 international midfielder is hoping to get the nod from Neil Lennon to play against Hearts in the delayed Scottish Cup Final at Hampden this afternoon.
Turnbull, a £2.25million arrival from Motherwell in the summer, and his Hoops team-mates are 90 minutes away from clinching the Parkhead club’s unprecedented quadruple treble.
The youngster, who saw his original move to Scotland’s title kings collapse 18 months ago because of knee problems that required surgery, has excelled in the recent wins over Lille and Kilmarnock and has given his manager something to ponder about as he looks at his options for the middle-of-the-park roles.
Reflecting on the hitch to the switch in June last year, Turnbull, 21, told the Sunday Mail: “What’s happened in the past is where I want it to be – in the past.
“My only interest now is the future, looking ahead and making sure I move forward.
“When I’m asked about the injury, I prefer not to speak about it.
“I always knew I’d get back to playing at this level, I never doubted it. To be honest, I reached that point at the start of this season.
“It has been a case of business as usual, everyone has been doing their best in training and giving 100 per cent.
“Now our focus is on this Cup Final – our training is over, so we will see what happens.
“In training, we have done a bit of shape work, but the manager hasn’t given anything away.”
Turnbull and all-action Ivorian Ismaila Soro, who has also played in the past two victories, have pushed their way into Lennon’s thoughts while he has the likes of skipper Scott Brown, Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie, Tom Rogic and Olivier Ntcham all pushing their claims.
The former Fir Park prospect added: “It’s just a great feeling to finally having managed to reach this stage. The only thing that matters is that I use those games as a platform to kick on and to make sure I continue to perform well.
“If I manage to get selected then my aim is to continue to do that.”
* DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v Hearts this afternoon – only in your champion CQN.
