AUSTON TRUSTY had to wait until the Champions League encounter against Slovan Bratislava in September before he took his Celtic bow at a rocking Parkhead.
The USA international central defender arrived in a £6million deal from Sheffield United on deadline day along with £11million record signing Arne Engels and Dundee skipper Luke McCowan.
The two other recruits were handed quickfire debuts as second-half substitutes as the champions thrashed their Ibrox foes 3-0 in the east end of Glasgow on September 1.
Seventeen days later, Trusty made his first appearance as an 84th-minute replacement for Cameron Carter-Vickers and was on the pitch in time to see Adam Idah roll in the Hoops’ fifth goal.
HANDS UP IF YOU’RE READY FOR THE NEW SEASON…Auston Trusty is raring to go.
Brendan Rodgers go into the draw on Monday to discover their opponents in the play-off in Europe’s most prestigious competition – and the back-four operator is eager to get involved among the elite in the new season.
After the 7-1 drubbing in Dortmund, Trusty played his part in the club getting back on track with a goalless draw with Atalanta in Bergamo to help the side through to the knock-out stages.
The left-sided defender said: “Every moment you get to play in the Champions League is a dream come true.
“I loved it. You are playing against the best players in the world – that’s where I shine, as well.
“As a player, I think those games should bring the best out of you. You want to be at your best against the best players and teams in the world.
“I think Atalanta really got me off the books, got me off the mark. I just continued from there.
ON THE BALL…Auston Trusty is in control.
“I think performances like that can give players and the team a lot of confidence. We can be aggressive offensively if the guys know the defence rocks behind them.
“If you don’t have that you tend to end up being a little too careful and slow in attack. We want to allow them to really go for it and have us in behind.”
Trusty won Premiership and Premier Sports League Cup medals in his debut campaign, but he and his team-mates stumbled in their quest for the silverware clean sweep when they lost to Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Final penalty-kick shoot-out.
The Philadelphia-born centre-back, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “You can have an amazing season, but if you have the team to win a treble and don’t do it, it does leave a sour taste in the mouth.
“It makes us strive for more. I try to think about the positive side. At least, for that to happen, we have the hunger in our stomachs to really go for the treble.
“It obviously sucks not to have won it, but if we can do the same thing and more this season then we’ll be in good hands.”
ON FIRE…Auston Trusty was a double medal winner in his debut season.
Trusty is now preparing for the Premiership kick-off on Sunday with St Mirren the visitors to Parkhead on Flag Day and he added: “Pre-season has been good. Sometimes they can get a bit drawn out, but this one has flown by.
“Overall, we’ve worked on things as a team and we are in a really good place going into the season.
“We’ve got a strong squad. A lot of the guys are still here and there’s great chemistry in the team, a lot of camaraderie.”
And it all goes on display again at the weekend.
