ARNE ENGELS went from Celtic’s most expensive purchase in the club’s history to bit-part player in the space of 18 months.
The Belgian arrived in an £11million switch from Bundesliga outfit Augsburg on August deadline day 2024 in a landmark deal for the champions.
Brendan Rodgers had pushed for the move and Engels was duly signed, sealed and delivered just a few days before his 21st birthday.
A lot was expected of the smooth operator in his debut campaign as he settled into life at Parkhead.
He played his role in the club winning their fourth successive title while the Premier Sports League Cup was added to the trophy haul.
However, Engels toiled along with his team-mates and was substituted in the drab scoreless stalemate with Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Final which saw the silverware whisked off to the north-east following a penalty-kick shoot-out.
HOLY SMOKE…Arne Engels samples the atmosphere at Hampden in December last year as he prepares to pick up his first medal for Celtic in the Premier Sports League Cup Final against Rangers.
There have been disappointments since the start of this term for the Belgium international and his colleagues which have seen them drift three points behind Hearts in the pursuit of the club’s record-breaking 56th championship.
Engels played the entire 90-minutes plus against the Edinburgh side in Sunday’s 2-1 loss during Wilfried Nancy’s first appearance as the long-term successor to Rodgers who resigned after losing to the same opponents at Tynecastle in late October.
The player had fallen out of favour with the Northern Irishman, but regained form and a first-team place under caretaker boss Martin O’Neill, who won seven of his eight games during his interim period in charge of the team.
Reflecting on the rollercoaster months, Engels said: “It’s always frustrating as a player to be on the bench, especially I’m maybe the one who is really working hard and trying to be back in the team.
“If you don’t really get a big chance to be back in the team and to show what you actually can contribute, then it’s always frustrating.
GETTING SHIRTY…Arne Engels reacts after a near-miss.
“But I knew that there would be a time that I would be back in the team and you need to just take those opportunities. I really worked hard behind the scenes to be really fit.
“If the chance would come, I would be ready for it and I think I’m now showing that I’m giving a lot to the team and, hopefully, I will never be out again.”
Quizzed if he had discussions with Rodgers about his situation, Engels, speaking to The Scotsman, answered: “Yeah, obviously you go and ask why you’re not playing.
“Especially if you played a lot of important games last season, then you’re going to be a bit frustrated and you’re going to go up to the manager and then ask for the reasons.
“We spoke about it and we had really good chats . He gave his clear opinion and it’s up to me to just get on with it and work hard for myself and work hard for the team.
“I said my opinion, he said his opinion and then we always discussed it. The thing is, the manager will always do the best for the team and that’s sometimes not what you’re thinking because you’re thinking maybe in your own way of helping the team with this and this.
“So, we had a lot of good chats and he spoke about what I needed to do better to become a better player and to be back in the team.
NO PAIN, NO GAIN…Arne Engels holds his head after thumping in Celtic’s second and winning goal against Hibs at Easter Road last month.
“It was just about small details and every manager has their own way of thinking and their own way of putting the players on the pitch.
“Sometimes you’re not in that plan and then you need to deal with it and just work hard to become part of that plan. That’s what I did. I worked really hard behind the scenes and I also got my opportunities.”
Engels also revealed conversations with skipper Callum McGregor helped him through a difficult stage of his career.
The middle-of-the-park performer added: “He’s helped me a lot. He’s helping everybody like a real captain does. We have a really good relationship with each other.
“We find each other really well on the pitch and you see that every time in the games that we play together that we really work with each other and help each other in every way.
“Even though sometimes I need a man to cover a metre or something, he will do it and I will do the same for him. So he has helped me a lot, also off the pitch.
“I spoke to him when I wasn’t in the team. I asked him how to come back into the team. What do I need to do? What is your view of seeing everything?
“He just gave his opinion about it and that helped me a lot to be calm and just work on it.”
Now Engels is hoping to continue the process by getting the nod from new gaffer Nancy to play against AS Roma in tomorrow night’s crucial Europa League encounter at Parkhead.
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