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It was one of the conundrums of Ange Postecoglou's time at Celtic – not that there were many – as to why David Turnbull seemed to be something of a peripheral figure under the Australian.
The Scotland midfielder scores goals, is a set-piece threat and spots a pass with a precision that is not always nearly so apparent in some of his team-mates. So it feels like a legitimate question to ask why he made so few appearances – a mere nine in league and cup matches – during Postecoglou's second season at the club.
Turnbull did, of course, miss three months of his first season after he tore his hamstring but he had been a virtual ever present prior to that point. And, certainly at face value, was suffering from no such injury issues in the 2022-23 campaign.
In the aftermath of Saturday's man-of-the-match performance in the 4-2 win over Ross County, Turnbull's fellow midfielder – Matt O'Riley – hinted that not all was well behind the scenes between his team-mate and former manager.
“Let's be honest it was pretty tough for you last year wasn't it? said O'Riley, addressing Turnbull on Sky Sports in the post-match interview. “In terms of he is too good not to play football in my opinion. I think last season in terms of application, especially off the pitch, he just got on with his work every day.”
Turnbull himself gave credit to his new manager, Brendan Rodgers, especially with regard to him being asked to play his natural game – one that clearly did not seem to fit Postecoglou's ideas.
"The manager has been great,” said Turnbull. “He has just been speaking to me about going out and playing my own football. He has told me what he wants me to do and I have just been taking that on board every week. Long may it continue. Game time has been hard to come by the past few months so it is good to get back in there and hopefully repay the manager's faith in me.”
In recent weeks there have been numerous attempts to recast Postecoglou's reign as Celtic manager as if it was some kind of water torture for all involved – supporters and players. It is inevitable, of course, one of the five stages of grief is anger and there certainly feels as if there has been a great deal of revisionism going on from certain elements of both following the 57-year-old's departure for Tottenham.
As for Turnbull, there is no doubting he is a great player, but his languid style is not what you might call an identikit fit for a Postecoglou team. He does, however, measure up to the mould of a Rodgers player and his two-goal haul on Saturday – which might have been a hat trick had Ross Laidlaw not denied him with a smart save in the first half – suggests that he is only going to thrive as part of a pass-happy Celtic team which will present him with plenty of opportunities when he ventures into the second striker role that the team will look to make use of this season.
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