The new Scottish Women’s Premier League season kicks off this weekend, and Celtic are aiming to get their campaign off to a winning start when they take on newly-promoted Montrose.
Fran Alonso’s side came agonizingly close to lifting the club’s first ever league title last season, only to be denied in the dying moments of the final game.
So there is real determination within the Hoops squad to, in the words of defender Caitlin Hayes, ‘right the wrongs of last season.’
Of course, the Celtic players showed their mental fortitude by bouncing back from league heartache to lift the Scottish Cup with a victory over Rangers at Hampden a week later.
And it’s something Caitlin Hayes knows will be to the fore throughout the new campaign.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s league opener, the Celtic defender said: “I’m super-excited. It’s something that’s been missed by myself and my team-mates, and we can’t wait to get out there.
'Just to have that opportunity to be back in this shirt is an honour that’s never taken lightly and I just can’t wait for those moments and that opportunity.'
“We will work hard and will hopefully have a great week in training and then we’ll see what the challenge Montrose have to offer. And hopefully we’ll reap the reward of the three points.
“We just got back from Gran Canaria, which was a great week away for no distractions, no phones, just time together to grow and bond together.
“There are some great girls there - great players but even better people, so we’re thankful to have them on board and hopefully together we can have a great season.”
Last season was the proverbial rollercoaster as far as the Hoops were concerned, and one of the high points for the team were the games at Celtic Park in front of record-breaking crowds.
There is an iconic image of Caitlin Hayes as a young girl wearing the black and gold Celtic away kit.
She has always been and always will be a Celtic supporter, but to be playing for the club that she loves as the team and the women’s game in Scotland continues to go from strength to strength is, she says, “the biggest of biggest dreams and I live it every day.
“Sometimes I have to pinch myself and remind myself that this is what my nine-year-old self dreamt of, and to walk out at Celtic Park with this shirt on and to have my family in the crowd, it’s something that could make me cry if I thought about it too much.
'It’s something that I never take for granted. It’s a privilege and an honour and it’s just the greatest feeling.'
And that great feeling will continue for the next few years as the 27-year-old recently signed a new three-year-deal with Celtic, which will also see her trademark pink headband continue to be worn by the young fans who aspire to follow in her footsteps.
“I think if I thought about it too much I could be overwhelmed because it’s a pressure like no other and it’s a position I’ve never really be in before,” she said.
“But I say this all the time - this pink pre-wrap isn’t mine, it’s ours and it’s something that girls have resonated with, and because of that they’ll continue to wear it.
“But I don’t want them to be Caitlin Hayes, I want them to be a couple of steps better and hopefully just being a role model is something I can do for them and be a positive influence.”
#CelticFCWomen
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1 окт 2024
