KNOWING when to shoot and when a pass is the better option is still something that David Turnbull is getting to grips with, but when you have a shot like the attacking midfielder possesses, it is little wonder that he likes to rip it from range whenever he gets the chance.
Take the recent game against his old club Motherwell at Fir Park. There were groans from the away support behind the opposite goal as Turnbull led a four on two break for Celtic in the first half, but chose to shoot from distance and fragged his effort harmlessly wide.
Some other players may have been deterred to shoot the next time an opportunity presented itself, but not Turnbull. Early in the second period, the 22-year-old produced a swerving, swirling stunner – with added ‘swazz’, in his own words – that found the top corner of Liam Kelly’s net before the keeper had a chance to even think about diving in the ball’s general direction.
Ange Postecoglou would be loathe to blunt such a potent weapon, but Turnbull is trying to heed his manager’s advice by knowing when to choose his moment.
“The manager knows I like to have a go from long range, but sometimes there’s a better pass on and he’ll tell me that after games,” said Turnbull.
“He doesn’t try to take that out of my game but he’ll explain that there are other options and try to help me.
“Everyone knows I enjoy adding goals to my game and that’s something I’ve tried to do ever since I was a young boy. I like to help the team out by scoring and creating chances so it’s good to chip in with a few.
“I haven’t really set myself any targets, although there’s always a figure I look towards and, once I get there, it’s just about scoring as many as I can but I don’t feel that I need to get to a certain number.”
Improving Turnbull’s decision-making is just one of the areas that Postecoglou is working on with his player, whose attacking talent has never been in question, even if some other aspects of his game could do with a polish in order for him to adapt to the very top level.
Contributing defensively, for example, is a skill that doesn’t come naturally to him, but it is one he is willing to hone.
“I’ve been trying to adapt and the coaching staff have been brilliant with me in trying to get that other side of my game to where it should be,” he said.
“I feel I’m improving that aspect every single week - I enjoy learning new things and I feel that I’m doing that.”
While happy to be contributing each week individually, Turnbull echoes much of the rhetoric coming from inside the Celtic dressing room in recent weeks when it comes to the importance of the collective.
There is a chance for Celtic to go top of the table with a win over Livingston this afternoon, and Turnbull is hoping that is a position they become accustomed to after chasing Rangers for so long last term.
“It would be nice to lead from the front but we’ve put last season behind us,” he said. “That’s been forgotten about.
“This is a clean slate and a fresh start for everyone under the manager and we’re just going about our business quietly and doing what we can on the pitch.
“For me, we’ve really clicked in the last four or five games. Everything’s clicked and fallen into place and everyone is doing their own job properly. Every player would like to be in the highest-scoring team while keeping the back door shut and our defence has done very well.
“It’s what the manager wants us to do – attack with freedom, score plenty of goals and create lots of chances while keeping the opposition out at the other end and we’ve been doing that.”
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