DORUS de Vries has revealed he was prevented from leaving Celtic and returning to the Premier League in England during the summer by his manager Brendan Rodgers.
De Vries has taken the place of Craig Gordon, who suffered a serious knee injury last month, in goals in the Scottish champions’ last three games against Hibs, Hearts and Kilmarnock.
His promotion to the first team has, despite the 1-0 loss which his side suffered at Rugby Park at the weekend, lifted the spirits of the Dutchman, who spent the vast majority of last season on the sidelines.
Read more: Neil Cameron: Walter Smith’s turning 70 but will have to prove himself with Scotland
The 37-year-old, who has previously played at Swansea City, Wolves and Nottingham Forest, admitted he had considered moving on in the summer after a bid from the top flight down south had come in, but had not been allowed to do so by Rodgers.
Asked if he had thought about departing Parkhead at the end of his first season in Scotland, he said: “Yes, of course. I did. In the summer, there was also some interest. I could have gone back to the Premier League, but, at that moment, I wasn’t allowed to go. Simple as.
“There were possibilities in the summer, but there was no option of going. You have to respect that decision and make the most of it. You can’t mope about it. You can’t go and sit the in corner and cry. That would be no use. You have to take it on the chin and try to make the most of the situation.”
De Vries admitted he is glad he stayed now. He has enjoyed being involved in the first team again and is looking forward to the big games they have coming up, including against Zenit St Petersburg in the Europa League. He is also relishing working under Rodgers.
Speaking as Celtic announced their women’s team had secured a two years sponsorship deal with IT and Communications company Exsel Group, he said: You never know what’s going to happen when you move. There are a lot of teams down south and it might be you are fighting relegation. There might be a change of manager or a change ownership.
“How many times have we seen that happen? Football is crazy like that and I had to take into account what I have here. I have great support and the respect of my team mates and the coaching staff.
“I’ve worked with the gaffer in the past and he’s been great for me. I really enjoyed working with him at Swansea. Am I happy how it’s gone? At the moment. I’m always happiest when I am playing and right now I am playing.
Read more: Motherwell 2 St Johnstone 0: First half would get football stopped but Well roll on
“There were a lot of things to think about. Did I want to move again? What are the possibilities? You weigh the pros and cons and think what’s best for me and my family. Then there’s loyalty to the gaffer and I also had a point to prove to him. I wanted to fight for him as well.
“He said he didn’t want to lose me because of my experience and the type of guy I am in the dressing room.
“If you only have a couple of weeks left in the transfer window, who are you going to get in? It can be tricky and I understood how he felt. Sometimes because the window is so time sensitive you can’t let players go.”
De Vries picked up three winners’ medals last season as Celtic won the Betfred Cup, Ladbrokes Premiership and William Hill Scottish Cup even though he only featured in five first team games. He is hoping to earn any honours he may pick up this season on merit.
“If we do it again this year then it will feel different, feel better,” he said. “You want your club to be successful whether you play or not but, if you are in the team, then you really feel as though you’ve made a contribution. Don’t get me wrong; being the type of guy I am, when I was out of the side last year then I made sure that everyone else around me was focused and ready.
“But, of course, when you’re taking part in the games, you feel as though you’re helping even more.”
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