Kelvin wants to be a winner with the Hoops
KELVIN Wilson arrived at Celtic Park today, delighted to pull on the green and white Hoops for the first time. The defender had signed a pre-contract with the club in January, and will officially become a Celtic player on July 1.
And meeting the press today, he spoke of his eagerness to help deliver more silverware to Paradise.
“I’m pretty confident that, coming to Celtic, I’m going to have a chance to win some silverware, and that’s one of the main reasons I’ve come here – to win things,” he said. “It was nice to see the lads win the Scottish Cup so I’d like to be a part of that, and hopefully we can achieve that, and more, again next season.”
The 25-year-old defender spent the last four years at Nottingham Forest, and even briefly played alongside the man who is now his manager at Celtic, when Neil Lennon moved south to the City Ground in 2007.
And for Wilson, a Nottingham boy and a Forest fan, it was a big step to move to another club and another country.
“I always said that I would only leave Forest for a bigger club and Celtic speaks for itself,” he explained. “Don’t get me wrong, Forest are a big club but Celtic are a massive club, there’s the appeal of European football, and it’s a big move for me.
“I had nearly four great years at Forest and I enjoyed every minute of it. I got on well with everyone - the people behind the scenes, the players, everyone at the club – and I’ve left on good terms.
“The gaffer here told me he has belief in me and that I’ll be in his plans straight away but you don’t really need to sell Celtic to anyone – it’s just a massive club and everyone knows it around the world.
“But I wouldn’t go anywhere and expect to be in the first team – you have to play well and earn your place.
“If you’re playing well, then you’re in contention, but if you’re not playing well you just need work harder.”
As well as the prospect of playing in front of 60,000 fans, and hopefully winning trophies, there is also the small matter of the Glasgow derby experience for the new Bhoy. And that’s something Wilson is looking forward to.
“I want to get involved in those games,” he said. “Every player wants to play in the pressure games and experience the atmosphere.
“It’s not good playing in your comfort zone your whole career, and coming here is going to take me out of my comfort zone, and I’m really looking forward to it.
“I’ve been up to watch a couple of games. It’s an amazing stadium, and it was a great atmosphere whenever the team scored, so I’m really looking forward to being part of that.”