ARNE ENGELS has revealed self-belief in his ability helped him to become a winner at Celtic after his record-breaking £11million arrival on August deadline day.
The Belgian midfielder became the most expensive player in the Hoops’ history when he signed a four-year deal from Bundesliga club Augsburg.
Engels accepted the expectation levels to deliver success on a regular basis has been more extreme than he had experienced in Germany, but the smooth operator has already lifted his first club honour when he played his part in the Premier Sports League Cup Final triumph over Ibrox opposition in mid-December.
The international was one of the five Celts to tuck their penalty-kick behind Jack Butland when the showpiece showdown ended 3-3 after extra-time.
SPOT ON…Arne Engels displays his penalty-kick technique with a goal in Celtic’s 5-2 win over St Mirren in Paisley last month.
Engels was third in line after Adam Idah and skipper Callum McGregor and, like his team-mates, made a perfect job from the spot.
Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda followed with impeccable efforts and the trophy was heading to the east end of Glasgow after Kasper Schmeichel had denied Ridvan Yilmaz.
A Premiership medal awaits the 21-year-old middle-of-the-park operator with the champions’ fourth successive title on the way and Engels has his eyes on the prize when the holders take on St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday where a win will set up a grand finale at Hampden on May 24.
Engels, who has claimed 10 goals and provided 12 assists, insisted life is good in Paradise and said: “I love it, actually. This winning mentality is something that suits me really well. I was looking forward to it.
“Everybody is really focused and now it’s about winning and that’s what we love to do.
SILVERWARE BREAKTHROUGH…first-time winner Arne Engels joins in with his triumphant team-mates as Callum McGregor prepares to hoist the League Cup to the acclaim of the Celtic support.
“But about the season, everything has gone really smoothly and good. Of course, it was my first season, so there were a lot of ups and downs.
“But I think there were a lot of ups also and we just need to think about those and not only about one or two months when it was a bit less.
“That’s how it is, especially at a big club like this when you need to perform every week and every game.
“I’m just looking forward to ending this season really well and in a really good way and, hopefully, win some more.”
Engels has made way a few times for his Portuguese pal Paulo Bernardo in the midfield trio with McGregor and Hatate virtually mainstays when they are fully fit.
Asked how he dealt with the rollercoaster moments, Engels, speaking on the Celtic Podcast, answered: “I think quite okay.
PARADISE…Arne Engels salutes the Celtic fans after scoring in the 2-0 win over Dundee at Parkhead in October.
“I just know what I’m doing, I’m still a young player and it’s my first season here. I still need to work on things.
“Now, I’m really settled in and everything is also going really well, so it’s now up to me to focus on my game and do the things I need to do every day to improve also in the gym and stuff.”
A determined Engels added: “But I think I coped really well and I wasn’t really stressing because I believe in my own qualities.
“That’s also a good point of me, that I’m not really thinking about the bad things every time. I also know my abilities and that I’m capable of trying to do something while attempting to get an assist or a goal.
“Yeah, I hope that I can help the team a little bit more with those things and I’m sure I will.”
