New Celtic winger will take time to get going
Returning Celtic winger Jota has warned fans that he could take a while to get back to his best.
The Portuguese winger has made just nine league appearances this season at his previous club, Rennes, and made just 25 in the previous season in Saudi Arabia for Al-Ittihad.
He said: “I have to be clear – the numbers they don’t lie.
“I haven’t played consistently for a long time and there’s no amount of training that gives you what the game gives you.
“There will be a time that I will need to get the physical aspects of it but after time it will flow and come naturally again.”
Nevertheless, Jota is excited to be back at a club where he was revered in a highly successful previous two season spell.
He added: “It feels amazing, it feels like home.
“It feels like the time has stopped.
“Today going to Lennoxtown it felt like I never left.”
The impact of new manager Brendan Rodgers was an important factor in the wide player’s return but another key aspect is having a new teammate that he knows well – former Benfica teammate Paulo Bernardo.
“Paulo is someone that played with me at Benfica and when he signed here I told him I was here to help and that he was coming to a very big club.
“Life works in mysterious ways because we now get the opportunity to play together.
“To get the opportunity to play with another Portuguese guy is amazing.”
Jota enjoyed a great relationship with Celtic fans and the city itself, and he was keen to point out the friendliness of his adopted home.
“I missed the people, I think the people in Glasgow are the best thing.”
Jota cannot make his debut against Aston Villa on Wednesday night but he may make the squad for Celtic’s away fixture at manager-less Motherwell this weekend.
