TYLER Blackett has predicted his season-long loan move to Celtic could enable him to force his way into the full England squad ahead of the Euro 2016 finals in France next summer.
The Manchester United defender felt that not featuring regularly in the first team at Old Trafford limited the number of appearances he made for his national under-21 side.
However, the 21-year-old, who can play at either centre half or left back, is hoping that featuring regularly for the Scottish champions both domestically and in Europe will increase his chances of international football.
“I think I can take the next step with Celtic,” he said. “Over the years I’ve missed out on under-21 squads because I’ve not been playing as many games as the rest of the boys. It’s meant I’ve not quite been up there with the rest of the boys.
“But hopefully now, if I get a run of games and play some good stuff then I’ll get a call-up. It’s achievable for any player if they put their mind to it.
“I’m desperate to improve and I need to play games. I knew that’s obviously going to be difficult at United because of all the good players they have. I just want to come here and do well.
Blackett has two years remaining on his current contract at United and has refused to rule out move to Celtic permanently if his loan spell at Parkhead goes well.
"No one knows the future so what happens, happens,” he said. “For now, my focus is on Celtic and trying to do well here. If I can get a good run of games and improve as a player, we’ll see what comes after.
“You have to assess the situation at the time and whatever’s best for me and my family, and everyone surrounding it, we’ll make that decision when it comes to it.
“But winning medals is definitely an appealing prospect. To win any medal at a young age is what every player dreams of really. No matter what club you are at, you want to win trophies and be a winner. You want to improve and be involved in these situations.”
Blackett made 12 appearances for the Manchester United first team last season under Louis van Gaal and lined up alongside Robin van Persie in the majority of those outings.
He believes his familiarity with the Netherlands striker can help Celtic in the Europa League matches against Fenerbahce if his former team mate is involved with the Turkish club he joined in the summer.
“The Europa League was most definitely a factor in me joining Celtic,” he said. “It’s a chance to play in Europe and that’s a huge plus as we have some good games to look forward to.
“I saw the draw and was delighted with the teams we’ve been grouped with. Hopefully they will be good games.
“I know Robin well from our time together at United. Robin was a great for me. He spoke to me a lot of times. But he’s like that with a lot of young players. He’s a nice guy to talk to and it would also be good to play against him.
“Fenerbahce is a game I’m really looking forward to, along with the other Euro ties. It would be great to play against Robin. I know about him as a player - but I’m sure he’d say the same about me. He’ll also know my strengths and weaknesses! We’ll see what happens on the night.”
Blackett, who has spent loan spells at English Championship clubs Blackpool and Birmingham City in the last two seasons, admitted he would be content to play at either centre half or left back for Ronny Deila's side.
“When I younger I played left back, but over recent years I’ve played quite a number of games as a centre-back so I’m comfortable in both positions,” he said.
“There aren’t that many left footed centre-backs around so that’s obviously an option, but where ever the manager needs me, I’m happy to play there.
“The manager is happy to have brought me here and I was happy myself, but he’s said he’ll see me in a few positions and hopefully I’ll get a good run of games and that will be good for me.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel