‘Causing a problem,’ BERNARDO’S CONCERN

PAULO BERNARDO hopes to maintain good habits until the end of the season.
The on-loan Portuguese playmaker is used to dealing with the strain that comes with playing for one of football’s biggest clubs, where the pressure is constant.

Celtic are back on the silverware tightrope in Paisley, where they will face St Mirren in the Scottish Cup at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

The 22-year-old classy middle-of-the-park operator understands the importance of stress management and, looking forward to a quick return to the venue where the champions began 2024 with a 3-0 win on January 2, is confident the Parkhead men will handle whatever comes their way.
They demonstrated that quality again in midweek’s 2-1 victory over Hibs at Easter Road, with Adam Idah’s stoppage-time penalty securing the points.

Bernardo stated, “We are at Celtic, a big club, and we must win all of our games. That also happened at Benfica. All of my Benfica youth teams were like this.

“Benfica is a big club like Celtic, so I believe their demands are similar, and they want to win every game.

“We needed to win the game, and a last-minute goal always helps. We were so passionate. Sometimes it has to be that way, and we were overjoyed to win. We need confidence, and it adds a little extra to the team.

“Of course, we are always looking to improve our game. We need to improve in training and apply that to games. We had a great time before the break, and we need to reach that level again.

“Sometimes it happens; we had some injuries, and we took a break. We were in a good rhythm before the break. I believe we are doing well; we just need to maximise our opportunities. Goals are helpful.”
Bernardo told Celtic TV: “We do some things well, but we need to improve on others. We just have a little problem scoring goals because I believe we need too many chances to score, which is causing problems.

“With confidence and playing more games, I believe we are getting better with each game. We simply need to keep going.

“We have a long season, we have ups and downs, but we just need to stick together, the players, the coaches, the fans, and keep going.”

Bernardo’s temporary transfer expires at the end of May, and the player’s talents are valued at around £6 million.

Brendan Rodgers will need to make a decision about whether the silky midfielder has a future in Scotland.

Until then, Bernardo hopes to continue his winning streak at Parkhead, where he is chasing his twelfth title in 13 years as well as a second consecutive Scottish Cup.

In other news, “TOO GOOD FOR THIS CELTIC TEAM.” SUTTON PRESENTS DAMNING VERDICT.