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"I'm happy to be playing at one of the top clubs and I'm delighted that my dream has come true. I feel like I'm on a movie set..."
Those were the words of new Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-Gyu in his first interview for the club's TV channel.
The 21-year-old Korean signed on the dotted line on Wednesday as he put pen to paper on a five-year deal to move to Parkhead from Suwon Samsung Bluewings for a fee in the region of £2.5million.
A movie set indeed. It was an interesting and curiously comedic choice of phrase by Celtic's newest recruit, who I suppose will just be hoping to prove that he's wandered onto the set of the right film.
Here's what the one-cap South Korea international will realise soon enough: there are no big 'stars' in this movie.
Oh is in fact now one of an ensemble who will be asked to contribute to the cause on an almost hourly, daily and weekly basis. The demands placed upon the footballers at Celtic Football Club will be nothing like he has ever encountered career-wise before.
𝐎𝐇 𝐇𝐘𝐄𝐎𝐍-𝐆𝐘𝐔 ✍️🇰🇷
— The Celtic Way (@celticway1888) January 25, 2023
We've got you covered...
🔍 In-depth scout reporthttps://t.co/PZX3BvIuHB
📺 Video special w/ @Jasons_JaysHubhttps://t.co/jjnR60iojS
🗣️ Oh's first words at Celtichttps://t.co/s5N9AVj6K6
✊ Ange Postecoglou's reactionhttps://t.co/OurGCrSQ3w pic.twitter.com/JRYFOBMx6l
Not only that, he will be asked to do it all in front of packed-out theatres every time he dons his new green-and-white hooped costume. Failure is not an option there and he will likely be panned mercilessly by the vociferous critics - and there will be many of them - if there is even a whiff of it. The personal levels of scrutiny will be ratcheted up quite a few notches from the K League.
"I'm a very aggressive player who also likes the physical side," he added in his first interview. That ticks a lot of boxes for the Celtic manager and supporters alike. He will offer a physical presence much like the soon-to-be-departing Giorgos Giakoumakis, whose future will be thrashed out one way or the other in the next few days.
Oh stands at 6ft 1in and opted to do his Korean military service early in his career. That will Hopefully, that will have toughened him up sufficiently for what awaits him in the rough and tumble of Scottish football.
There is only one director, or drill sergeant, in this movie though; the man shooting every scene and calling every shot is Ange Postecoglou. If Oh is willing to listen and learn from his manager then Postecoglou will see him all right in the long term. After all, the Aussie has torn up and written his own script since touching down as manager in Glasgow's east end last summer.
While Celtic's history is littered with a touch of Hollywood and Tinseltown - and Paradise is indeed a place where football dreams do come true - they also don't call Glasgow 'Raintown' for anything either. The pavements aren't exactly awash with silver and gold here. It's hard work, blood, sweat, tears and sacrifice that await and all for the greater good - the Celtic team.
The Korean continued: "I also like to score a lot of goals. One of my aims is to score a lot. I also have ambitions of winning the league."
That really is an admirable sentiment. Just ask the goalscoring talisman that is Kyogo Furhuhashi his thoughts on scoring goals and being a successful striker for Celtic. Domestically, he has bossed it.
READ MORE: Oh Hyeon-gyu scouted - what will South Korean starlet bring to Celtic?
Yet his doubters still point a finger at the fact that he failed to bulge the net in European football's elite club competition - the Champions League - and has only bagged one in matches against city rivals Rangers to date.
As Oh will no doubt understand already, it is also a prerequisite for any Celtic player and the team that whenever the award ceremonies take place and the prizes and trophies are being handed out they must be in the mix, competing for all the major honours. It's a pressure situation, of course, but one would also call it an occupational hazard.
That said, the rewards when they come are beautiful and bountiful - and they can be shared by the ever-joyous members of your Celtic extended family. Oh, you'll have made lots of new friends almost overnight. Trust me on that.
Yes, playing for Celtic is a blockbuster movie that never ends. You do have to adhere to the same script week in, and week out though.
On the plus side, it's a fairly simple one with not a lot of lines to rehearse or even learn: win, win and win again. Rinse and repeat.
Welcome to Glasgow. Welcome to Celtic. Welcome to the glorious madness that is Scottish football.
Welcome to Celtic the Movie, Oh. You ain't seen nothing yet.
This piece is an extract from the latest Celtic Digest newsletter, which is emailed out every weekday evening with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from The Celtic Way team.
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