Evening Times:
www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/editor-s-picks/marc-crosas-has-sense-of-unfinished-business-at-celts-1.1055601Marc Crosas has sense of unfinished business at CeltsCeltic were beaten by the clock when attempts to redirect Marc Crosas’s career during the transfer window collapsed at the 11th hour.
However, the Spanish midfielder refuses to be counted out at Parkhead and has vowed to battle for a place in Neil Lennon’s side. The 22-year-old signing from Barcelona did not want to call time on his stay in Glasgow.
Nevertheless, he was aware he had attracted interest from Espanyol and Middlesbrough during the summer.
Finally, it was Greek club PAOK Salonika who came closest to agreeing a deal to take him away from Parkhead. In the final hours of the window, it looked like agreement could be reached between the clubs.
But it fell apart at the Greek end, and Crosas has resigned himself to the fact that, for the next four months at least, he must knuckle down to regaining the starting place he regularly had under previous managers Gordon Strachan and Tony Mowbray.
To date, Crosas has made just one appearance in the 17 games Lennon has been in charge, coming on as a substitute in the Scottish Cup defeat to Ross County in April.
With the arrival of Efrain Juarez, Joe Ledley and Biram Kayal in the summer, captain Scott Brown a first-pick, and Ki Sung-Yueng regularly selected as back up on the bench, his chances of forcing his way into the manager’s plans for the central midfield area appear ever more remote.
However, Crosas has lost neither the will to be part of the new-look Celtic side, nor the confidence that he can achieve this ambition. He said: “Neil Lennon has to realise that I’m not the sixth midfielder.”
Crosas remains adamant his ability to develop the play through the centre of the park – a skill he learned in Barca’s training academy, La Masia, where stars such as Xavi, Fabregas and Iniesta honed their touch and philosophy – must be able to be accommodated in the SPL, and, in particular, at a club whose ethos is based around good football.
Which is why Crosas was an uneasy spectator as the club listened to enquiries from other admiring managers. He explained: “Offers arrived in summer, but none were interesting enough for me to leave Celtic. I’m in a great club, but my aim is to play, I am still only 22.”
Unfortunately for Crosas, his age is another obstacle to him winning a place even on the bench as he no longer qualifies as one of the three Under-21 players club’s must list every match day.
It is a situation he has discussed with Lennon. “We tried to find a solution before the close of summer transfer window. Now he has told me I’m one of a group he can pick from and I have to work, as I am doing, to have a chance.”
Crosas concedes opportunities may have been more plentiful had Celtic not crashed out of Europe before the group stages of the Champions League and the Europa League.
The three domestic competitions are all that remain, and Crosas understands Lennon is unlikely to use any of them just to give players a game.
He said: “We failed in Europe and now we only have the two cups and the championship, and a club like Celtic has the obligation to win everything.”
In the two seasons he has spent at the club, such success has evaded Crosas. The nearest he has come was as an unused substitute in the CIS League Cup Final win over Rangers last year.
“It’s time to win my first league with Celtic,” he said with a conviction that confirms he is not looking for a quick exit when the window re-opens in January.
The Spanish have a saying which, roughly translated, means that to achieve anything all five senses must remain locked in.
Crosas insists “the five senses are in Glasgow,” and at a club where he was voted Young Player of the Year at the end of his first season. That’s a level he believes he can reach once again, given the chance by Neil Lennon.