Vasilis Barkas wanted to swerve Celtic training as keeper opens up on his Parkhead woes

Former Celtic flop keeper Vasilis Barkas has revealed he was so down during his stint in Glasgow he didn't want to even turn up for training sessions.

The Greek keeper has thrived since signing for Utrecht in the summer after an initial loan spell last term. Celtic released him after a disastrous time at Parkhead, which he ended up costing the Hoops £281,000 per Premiership appearance after they signed him from AEK Athens for £4.5 million. And speaking in a recent podcast in his homeland, he revealed how bad it got for him with the Hoops.

He explained: "Of course. I try to forget that period at Celtic. My family and I had a hard time. I was at a huge team, but in a difficult situation with Covid. Everything was difficult, the weather, everything. Now I have found the joy of playing football, I am happy, I enjoy it. I reached the bottom in Scotland and now I appreciate everything. I said to myself that I didn't want to have a hard time again football-wise and on a human level. I want to see my family happy, too.

"I was tested for my mental health, of course. We footballers are blessed because we are basically making our childhood game a profession and supporting our family from it because we get good money. But I got to the point then in Scotland where I treated it like a job.

"I was saying 'I don't want to go to training' and 'why is this happening to me?' I wasn't enjoying it. At some point, I said I had to set a goal to start enjoying it again.

"If you're not happy you can't perform. Despite everything, I had a good relationship with Ange Postecoglou.

"Regardless of whether I didn't play with him - although that was more to do with the team than with him - he is a very good coach.
"I liked his philosophy, he