ON-LOAN Celt Ryan Christie wants to help Aberdeen pile the pressure on his parent club in the second half of the season but admits that the Dons were frustrated not to take advantage of the stalemate at the Celtic v Sevco Rangers match by taking three points themselves in their match with Hearts.
The Dons are in their usual second spot in the Premiership, eight points adrift of the Hoops, and the classy midfielder said: “There’s a little bit of frustration that we’re not closer to Celtic.
“That added to the frustration in the draw against Hearts after the goalless game at Parkhead.
“We wanted to get three points, pull away from Rangers (sic) and get closer to Celtic.
“It’s frustrating we’ve not managed to do that, but we’re still confident that after the break we’ll be ready to try and close the gap.
“That’s the plan. There are no other targets. We just need to try to get as close to Celtic as possible and run them as close as we can.
“Hopefully, that takes us a long way to getting second place.”
Looking back at 2017, Christie added: It’s been a good year for me. The most important thing was just playing football again and I’ve really enjoyed it at Aberdeen.
“Obviously, there have been highs and lows, but I was lucky enough to have the international experience as well.
“So, it’s been a good, but I want to kick on again.”
Christie is due to return to Parkhead in the summer after his seond loan stint at Pittodrie.
Yesterday though Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes admitted that he would like to keep Christie at Pittodrie for the long term but admitted that he’d have no money to spend on buying the player.
Celtic aren’t likely to be interested in a bargain basement deal anyway so the best McInnes can hope for is a second loan spell for the player Celtic signed from Inverness for £500,000.
The CQN Podcast: A Celtic State of Mind (EP28) with former Celtic director Tom Grant
Paul John Dykes and Kevin Graham are joined by Celtic’s ex-director, Tom Grant, who offers a fascinating insight into the running of the club in the 1980s and 1990s.
Tom Grant explains exactly why Celtic refused to complete the Mo Johnston transfer in 1989, and lifts the lid on audacious efforts by Billy McNeill to recruit Peter Beardsley and Steve Bruce.
Tom Grant also dissects his relationship with Fergus McCann, and the impact of the ‘Celts For Change’ movement in overturning the ‘family dynasty’ board in 1994.
Jim Craig made two of the three goals in the 1967 European Cup Final. Get Jim’s new Lisbon Lion Diary – Right Back to 67 from CQNBookstore.co.uk and you will receive a signed copy from the man himself plus a FREE copy of That Season in Paradise – Ten Months of Celtic Heaven signed by fellow Lisbon Lion Bertie Auld! Simply order Jim Craig – Right Back to 67 and the second book will be sent automatically.
