SEBASTIAN TOUNEKTI is aiming to be extra special when Celtic face VfB Stuttgart in the first leg of their Europa League play-off at Parkhead tomorrow night.
The twinkle-toed Tunisian winger has taken centre stage in the champions’ recent late, late shows to prove his value to the team.
Tounekti set up Junior Adamu for his equaliser in the Scottish Cup nailbiter against Dundee with just three seconds to play in the east end of Glasgow earlier this month.
And he went one better when he fired in the extra-time winner that has set up an intriguing quarter-final clash at Ibrox next month.
WALKING ON AIR…Sebastian Tounekti celebrates his superb long-range goal in Celtic’s remarkable fightback against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
The £5.2million arrival from Swedish club Hammarby in the summer also sparked the Hoops’ remarkable comeback at Rugby Park on Sunday when he launched a spectacular 25-yarder high into the Kilmarnock net to claw back a goal with the hosts leading 2-0.
Benjamin Nygren levelled and Julian Araujo smashed in the winner in the seventh minute of stoppage-time.
Tounekti is hoping to be enjoy that winning feeling against the Bundesliga club tomorrow evening.
The international touchline ace said: “I feel like I am doing well at the moment, but I always want to improve.
“There is still a lot to improve and I’m just happy that I can help the team to win games. That’s the most important thing, so I will also try to do that.
“I’ve been doing my job on the training field a lot. I’ve been working with the coaching team and they have helped me a lot, especially with videos and on the training ground working with the small stuff.
“We have a coaching team with some brilliant experience, so I’ve been working with every one of them.”
FOR MY NEXT TRICK…Sebastian Tounekti displays his ball-playing skills.
Displaying the determination that has been evident in his recent outings, Tounekti, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “I want to help the team to win games – and I feel like I’m a player who can do that.
“I feel like I have the quality to do that and the most important thing, as I said, I want to do everything I can to help the team to win games.
“I know that I can score and make assists and I will try to help the team tomorrow again.
“The players are pleased to be in the positions we are in, we are fighting for everything and the Europa is special for everyone at the club.
“We know this game is special, so we are focused on it.”
Tounekti added: “We have to take it match to match because there are lots of teams in this competition who are great, and tomorrow it’s a fine team we are going to meet, so we just have to focus on the match.
“But we want to go as far as possible. We feel like we have the quality to do that, but we have to win games, that’s the most important thing.
“The fans are special and everyone who grows up in football knows about the nights in the stadium.
“So, we know that those are really special and the fans are really amazing. I really hope they could be there to give us the extra push we need because that’s really needed.”
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