'I'm sure Celtic can fix this' - Carl Starfelt Q+A

Just how much are the players looking forward to tomorrow, obviously the final league game of the season, but having that opportunity to go out in front of the fans and lift the trophy?

Yeah, I think a lot. We know what a great day this can be. To be able to celebrate the trophy with the fans, but we also need to put in the work first and really entertain them, and then enjoy everything after.

Cameron Carter-Vickers has obviously been out the last few weeks with an injury and there's been a shake-up defensively with a few different partnerships in there. How do you feel it has been the last few weeks without Cameron there?

Obviously, we've been letting in too many goals in the last three games – too easy goals as well. As you say, it's been a lot of changes to the team but it's not an excuse – we need to work really hard to get back to the stability we have shown all season. So that’s the only thing that’s on our minds.

With the Scottish Cup final next weekend, can you allow yourself to enjoy these celebrations tomorrow or do you immediately have to think it's Saturday on the mind next week?

No, we're focused on tomorrow and as I touched on, we have parts in our game that we really want to improve tomorrow to give the fans real enjoyment and to give ourselves enjoyment in the last game of the league and then also obviously, like you say, building up a good game before the cup final as well, so it’s important.

How vital will not just a win but a good performance be tomorrow ahead of next Saturday's final?

Yeah, I think it's really important. We need to come back to how it's been looking in all the season, but now I think, for example, the last game here in parts we played okay football but it doesn’t seem like it's going our way right now and to fix that we need to work really hard to shift momentum a bit so that’s what we’re looking to do tomorrow. We all know that the day tomorrow will be much, much more fun for everyone if we bring a good performance and victory.

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Carl, you’ve obviously been relentless all season until the last couple of weeks which is probably only natural after clinching the title. How difficult is it as players when there's been so many changes to the team and you’ve been so consistent with line-ups to then adapt five or six different players in the team from week to week? What impact does it have?

It's hard to say. I think in the first part of the season, we also made a lot of changes, and we didn’t drop in level when we made those changes so I wouldn’t blame it only on that. It's about us players really going back to what we have done all season but of course, you want consistency so its something different when you make a lot of changes. Maybe you need to build some new relationships and understanding out on the pitch but I am sure if we work really hard and do our thing on the field, we will get back to our stability that we've had all season.

Has it been difficult as players having clinched the title pretty early with the treble prospect hanging a few weeks in the distance? Has it been difficult to take your eye off that – obviously everyone wants to be fit for Hampden?

No, I don’t think so. I don’t think we've thought too much about that game yet. I think now we have Aberdeen here tomorrow. Hopefully, we can bring a good performance and a great game. We know that it's going to be a really good day in that case and after that we will turn our eyes to the cup final but no, we haven’t spoken about as a team and I don’t think that the focus has been there.

The possibility of winning a treble next week, how important has it been having guys like Callum McGregor in the squad who have won trebles at Celtic before in keeping the team focused?

Yeah, I think it's always important to have those experienced players who know what it takes to win titles and be successful. It was really important in our early stage when Ange (Postecoglou) came in and we started this rebuild. Now I think we have many players who have won titles as well that can show the way as they know what it takes. Obviously, Callum is our captain and a really important player for us, so he is really important.

You made the PFA Scotland Team of the Year. Just on your season as a whole on a personal level, how would you assess it?

A little bit hard since I was out, also out for a pretty long while, but yeah, after coming back from the winter break, I would say I am happy with my season and obviously winning two titles already and having the chance on a third title – if we can do that it would make the season really good so that’s our goal.

The manager had said that he takes most of the responsibility for the recent performances and results given the changes that he has made, but as players, do you understand why there would be any anxiety within the fans with the cup final coming up as well?

No, I don’t. To be fair, I think I understand that we need to perform on a greater level than these last three games. We can't let in easy goals, we have to work better defensively as a unit and that’s about it. I'm sure that we can fix this and I'm sure that we are going in with great confidence ahead of tomorrow’s game and we will go in great confidence in the Cup final as well, but with the knowledge that we need to work really hard and everyone will be 100% at it. I think you can see it from both sides that hopefully, this will make us even more hungry to perform in these last two games.

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Looking at your team-mate Kyogo, he could finish the season as the league’s top scorer - He is one goal ahead at the moment. What is it like playing in a team with him – obviously at the opposite end of the pitch to you?

Yeah, he has had an unbelievable season. He has been very good and very consistent and scored a lot of goals. He's also working really hard defensively and is a very good character as well as being very humble and nice to everyone, so obviously, we enjoy having him a lot here. I think everyone likes to play with him and the opposition doesn’t like to play against him so much – he's a really good player.