They say defending is an art, not a skill.
In that case, Kelvin Wilson knows a thing or two about the art of defending. Wilson is well aware of the attributes required to become a Celtic centre-back of repute. The 39-year-old lived and breathed Celtic for two seasons from 2011 to 2013 winning two Scottish Premiership titles and a Scottish Cup in the process.
Celtic entertain Aberdeen this weekend as the Scottish Premiership's big two battle it out for supremacy. Both sides sport equal 100 per cent records having won seven out of seven league matches since the league campaign began in earnest back in August.
Brendan Rodgers's side will then travel to Italy to take on last season's Europa League winners Atalanta at the Stadium in Bergamo on Matchday Three of the Champions League league phase on Wednesday night. The Scottish champions limbered up with a 6-0 victory over St Johnstone in Perth before being caned 7-1 by Borussia Dortmund in the Signal Iduna Park Stadium on Matchday Two.
Wilson is acutely aware that Celtic will face two extremely different tests at home and abroad within the space of four days. So what makes a good Celtic defender? What are the qualities that he needs in his make-up to cope with playing at the domestic and European level?
Wilson said: "I watch Celtic now and I have watched them over the past few years and the recruitment has been excellent, especially defensively.
"When it comes to Celtic's central defenders they might not have anything to do for 70 minutes of a domestic game then all of a sudden they will be called into action to make a last gasp block or saving tackle. The concentration levels for defenders at Celtic have to always be on point, especially in European games. The hardest part for any Celtic defender is to stay focused and switched on at all times in that arena. The levels are ratcheted up a notch in the Champions League because you are coming up against world-class players more often than not.
"Playing against top-level European clubs heightens the senses and you have to learn quickly how to cope. As a Celtic centre-back, you are fully expected to be busier in a Champions League game than during any match in the Scottish Premiership. You need to remain switched on. I was very good at taking and receiving instructions. That was arguably one of my biggest assets as a stopper. I could adapt to different manager's styles too which was also beneficial.
"Good Celtic defenders have leadership qualities and they have to be dominant. I realised that after my first season, I was standoffish and not dominant enough. They also have to be aggressive but one of the major assets that Celtic defenders have to possess is the ability to be able to play football. You cannot just be a head it and kick it centre-half if you want to be able to play for a club like Celtic. You have got to be able to play."
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It was former Celtic defender Wilson who famously helped the club achieve its finest result on the European stage in recent memory when Neil Lennon's men downed the mighty Barcelona 2-1 on an unforgettable night at Parkhead in November 2012. The elegant Wilson alongside his ten teammates was outstanding on that occasion.
However, the ex-Nottingham Forest stopper admits that whilst the higher-profile matches brought the best out of him, especially during his second year at Celtic there is still a massive comedown factor from playing in the elite-level club competition and switching to plying your trade in the Scottish Premiership. Wilson said: "I found it easier to play against the so-called bigger teams in the Champions League and better players. I don't mean any disrespect to the players playing in the Scottish Premiership.
"Some great players are playing in the Scottish top flight. The thing I noticed with myself was that I tended to play better against higher-calibre opposition and better players. Lenny said to me in a meeting once that whenever Celtic played against the big teams, I always turned up. There was also a statistic going around back then that for three or four games on the bounce after a European match when we were back on Scottish Premiership duty Celtic either lost or drew.
"Lenny couldn't put his finger on why. Celtic got a psychologist in to see if they could get to the bottom of why it was happening. Celtic would earn a decent result in Europe against Benfica and then we had to deal with the mental comedown of playing in Scotland against somebody like St Mirren. The contrast was stark. It was mentally draining and your adrenaline levels took a major hit. That was a major issue for the Celtic players back then in the Champions League and I am sure nothing will have changed with the current squad under Brendan Rodgers.
"The Celtic players have to get themselves up for domestic games a lot. I was particularly interested when Rodgers made the comments recently that he wanted his men to adopt a Champions League mentality before the St Johnstone game. People say that players should treat every game the same way. Believe me, I wish it was as easy as that. It is easier said than done.
"Getting up for the big European games was the easy part for me, it was coming back down to earth playing in the bread and butter of the Scottish Premiership that I found the hardest part."
"That partnership is brilliant. I don't know too much about Auston Trusty as he is a bit of an unknown quantity to me. I'm sure once he gets himself settled in and if he is watching the other two guys closely then he will pick a lot up from them and fit into the Celtic set-up nicely. I can only speak about Carter-Vickers and Scales they complement each other very well and they bounce off each other excellently. The Borussia Dortmund result doesn't look good no matter who is playing at the back of the pack but these things can happen and it is a team effort. As a manager, you will look deeper than your back four and your goalkeeper when you are on the receiving end of a defeat like that.
"What Celtic have achieved over the last few years is incredible and you have to give all credit to the current and previous manager and the players. I am convinced that Celtic will put on a better showing against Atalanta away than they did against Borussia Dortmund, especially defensively as they are a much better team than that. Don't get me wrong, there will be nerves heading into the match in Italy, but they will be fuelled by the fact that they do not want a defeat like Dortmund to happen again as that result will be in the back of their minds.
"The Celtic players and the manager will overcome that in the Champions League. I can't predict the Atalanta result but I am sure that the performance levels of the players, especially the defenders will be a lot better than the Dortmund game."
Wilson talks a good game. He also played a good game. None more so than against Barcelona in 2012.
That was a night when Celtic defender Wilson proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that defending was indeed an art and not a skill.
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