At The End Of The Storm, There's A Golden Sky

Mikael Lustig expects Celtic and the fans to walk on through the wind and rain

- Mark Henderson

 A SWIFT scan of Mikael Lustig’s stats would suggest he’s known nothing but success at Celtic. In all of his seven seasons in Paradise, the Swedish internationalist has been a champion.

He has also won three Scottish Cups and two League Cups. Over the past two seasons, he was an important member of the club’s unprecedented Double Treble triumph, not to mention all the Champions League campaigns and big European victories.

But amid all this silverware and achievements, there have been tough times, painful defeats and spells where a cloud of criticism has enveloped the club. Lustig has experienced the good times and the bad in Paradise and knows what it takes to emerge from the darkness.

For the first time under Brendan Rodgers, Celtic have endured a major setback in the form of their failure to reach the Champions League group stages. That body-blow was followed by some below-par performances, including in last week’s UEFA Europa League play-off against FK Suduva when the Hoops could only muster a 1-1 away draw.

As one of the older heads and longest-serving players in the Celtic dressing room, Lustig was happy to sit down with the View to discuss the process of emerging from this period of adversity. He won’t be pressing the panic button or be tempted into blaming others. His message was simple and straightforward: this is a time for unity.