Darnel’s lessons from legends

Darnel Fisher is happy to take lessons from legends to make his mark at Celtic.

The 19-year-old has played a prominent role in pre-season matches starring at right-back after converting from being a central midfielder.

Fisher came to prominence in a match between Reading based Eldon Celtic and the Jimmy Johnstone Academy and is now starting his fourth season as a Celtic player picking up lessons along the way.

“Danny (McGrain) has been giving me a lot of tips,” Fisher explained. “I didn’t know about him when I came here but you learn quickly.

“He’s played at World Cups and he’s always telling us how good a full-back he was!

“He has been passing on advice on positioning and use of the ball and crossing. He just gives general advice.

“Bertie (Auld) has been really good to me too. I played against the Jimmy Johnstone Academy for my boys’ club and that’s why I was invited up here three years ago. The coach knew Bertie and he took an interest in me when I arrived.

“He showed me around Celtic Park and he really helped me settle in to the club.

“He’s a legend and you can see people are in awe of him when they meet him but he’s just a really down-to-earth guy.

“I think people are maybe jealous with all these Celtic legends, like Danny and Bertie, taking an interest in me — but it’s great!”

Making the jump from development team to first team is the toughest task for any player- especially when Adam Matthews and Mikael Lustig are battling it out for the right-back berth.

Fisher knows what he has to do and takes inspiration from the club’s most recent first team graduates.

“You get inspiration from looking at people like James Forrest and Tony Watt,” he added. “If you’re good enough at this club you’re old enough and I want to be where they are now. The manager has told me to keep pushing for the first team.”