Championship Contender

After a season of first-team football in Scotland’s second tier, Joe Thomson has his eyes on progressing further.

- Mark Henderson

AFTER a year of honing his game in the Championship, Joe Thomson is back in Paradise and ready to prove to Brendan Rodgers that he deserves a first-team berth at Celtic. 

The 20-year-old made his final appearance of a six-month stint at Queen of the South in their 1-0 defeat to Dunfermline last weekend, having spent the first half of the campaign with Dumbarton. In total, he made 35 appearances for both clubs in a highly-competitive league, scoring five times, and the midfielder firmly believes he has returned to the Bhoys as a more complete and street-wise operator. 

And that, along with a positive chat with the Hoops boss, has fuelled Thomson’s confidence of staking a claim once pre-season gets underway in June as he looks to add to his sole top-team appearance which came in 2015 away to Dundee United. 

Here, the Hoops youngster sat down with the View to reflect on the past 12 months and his ambitions for the next chapter of his fledging career.

Now that the season in the Championship is over, how do you assess your time at Queen of the South? 

Myself and a few other additions came in and added some pace and energy to the team and I really enjoyed it. I played a number of positions – I played every position across the midfield, in attacking and defensive roles and on both flanks. I have toughened up and I have improved a lot in the defensive side and covering the space, as in my positional sense. I’ve really enjoyed it and I’ve gained more than I would have at 20s. After going through last season undefeated, I felt I was ready for a new challenge. It’s been an invaluable experience and I learned a lot about different parts of the game.