“It was really well done by the Bhoys,” Arne Engels

The Celtic Star

·3 March 2025

“It was really well done by the Bhoys,” Arne Engels

Arne Engels spoke to the media after Celtic’s hugely significant 5-2 victory over St Mirren on Saturday night which has taken Celtic a giant step closer to wrapping up a 55th league title triumph…

Arne Engels scores. St Mirren v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Saturday 1st March 2025. Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Indeed all it will take is three successive victories in the Scottish Premiership in the next three matches against theRangers and Hearts at Celtic Park then the title can be won at McDiarmid Park with a victory at the start of April…

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Brendan Rodgers’ side extended their lead at the top of the Premiership table to 16 points and are now three consecutive wins away from securing a fourth consecutive league title.

Arne Engels of Celtic during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD8 training on January 28, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: How good a position is that at this stage of the season?

Arne Engels: “I think it’s a really good position. It’s still not won, so we still need to keep on going and keep on this winning mentality that we have. We just need to keep on going and then hopefully in the end we will be there.”

Q: You would have been aware of theRangers’ result before the game. Did that have any bearing on the performance?

Arne Engels: “No, of course, we all are looking to all the games and all the results, but we are always focused on our game and not really on what is happening on the other pitches. I’m just glad that we came here on a difficult pitch and that we scored five. It was really well done by the Bhoys.”

Arne Engels scores. St Mirren v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Saturday 1st March 2025. Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: That’s 10 goals for the season and eight penalties. It’s easy this penalty malarkey to you, isn’t it as you make it look easy?

Arne Engels: “No, I’m always training for the penalties. It’s really important also for the team. It was good to score to make it 2-1, so it’s always in the important moments that you need to step up. It’s always nice to grab a goal also if it’s a penalty. Every goal counts.”

Arne Engels celebratesSt Mirren v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Saturday 1st March 2025. Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Are you nervous before you hit it?

Arne Engels: “No, I’m confident in my abilities and I know what I’m doing.”

Q: When Callum went off you dropped back deeper in the pitch. How do you feel the responsibility in that role?

Arne Engels: “Of course, it’s a big position, especially if you’re one up then you need to focus on the defence part a bit more than the offence. I was trying to help the team, to coach the team and to not let them all go into the attack. I think the team did really well.”

Q: Do you do that by speaking?

Arne Engels: “Yes, with everything. By speaking, by pointing, by everything. I’m always trying to help the team with that. I think I’m also improving in that.”

Celtic Huddle. St Mirren v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Saturday 1st March 2025. Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: It’s a really impressive part of your game, not just on the ball. You’re tracking back 30-40 yards at times, aren’t you?

Arne Engels: “Yes, I’m always not only thinking about attacking and trying to score goals or trying to give assists, but the most important thing is in the end the three points. If you’re one up then you need to think about not conceding one. I think that also helped the team a lot already this season that we have also this defensive mentality. I think we just need to keep on going now and keep on improving on that.”

Q: In terms of mentality, is this the strongest team you’ve played with?

Arne Engels: “Yes, I think so. Everything is competitive and you see the players on the bench coming in and having fantastic performances. They are also pushing and it keeps the other guys awake and really on top of their toes to perform. That’s a really strong thing and a really strong squad that we have.”

Kasper Schmeichel at full time. St Mirren v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Saturday 1st March 2025. Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: How pleased are you for Yang?

Arne Engels: “Unbelievable. I’m happy for him. He’s always training 100% and trying to come in and trying to force things. The couple of weeks that he already came in and played fantastically so I’m really happy for him. What was it? Two goals and an assist? Yes, and denied a third goal by the assistant’s flag. Exactly. It was an amazing performance from him and I think the team is really glad for him.”

Yang leads the celebrations. St Mirren v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Saturday 1st March 2025. Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: He seems a very popular player in the dressing room. He was leading the singing with the supporters and all that. Was that good to see?

Arne Engels: “Yes, 100%. Everybody in the team is happy for each other and that makes our team strong and nice to play in. Everybody is supporting each other and not doing or saying negative things. Everybody is supportive of each other and welcoming. That’s also a thing that I felt the first months that I came here. That was like, wow, what a team. Everybody is so nice to each other. When you see that all the performances seem to happen by themselves.”

Yang celebrates. St Mirren v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Saturday 1st March 2025. Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: A lot of teams may lose energy towards the end. Do you guys go the opposite way? It’s relentless. Where do you find that energy to score those goals so late on?

Arne Engels: “I think we are a strong and physical unit. We have a lot of games and maybe that makes us strong physically. Maybe you guys think the opposite. We are thinking in a way that even if we have so many games, we are getting stronger and stronger. You can see it in the games when maybe the opposition is getting tired, and we are still going and pushing ourselves. That’s also a really strong point.”

Q: You’re so close to the league title now. If you win your next three games you will win it. Do the team just want to get this done in style and as perfectly as possible?

Arne Engels: “We are just looking forward to the next game. It’s nothing about the style or something. We have our own style and that’s something that we need to keep on improving. We are playing very well at the moment. We have a game against Hibs next weekend. We are just looking forward to that and then we’ll see in the end what happens.”