Celtic-owned left-back Andrew Gutman’s social media post certainly had a hint of the philosophical last night.
The American is currently on loan with FC Cincinnati in the MLS. After a poor season for the club overall, they’re currently in their off-season after failing to reach the playoffs. Cincinnati finished the season bottom of the Eastern Conference – 13 points off 11th placed Orlando City.
But that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been a productive campaign for Gutman. The defender managed to make eight appearances for Cincinnati since his loan move was confirmed over the summer.
And, after his team’s season came to an end, Gutman posted the following message to his followers on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4IaYu_hgtg/?igshid=gqq9a7u5lbtl
Gutman won’t be back for another year
Gutman’s loan deal in the States will still last for another year (MLS). That gives him some stability over the next 12 months to help with his development. Considering this was only Cincinnati’s first year in the MLS, they’ll be hoping for a more productive campaign next season.
Interestingly, in all of Gutman’s eight appearances for his new club, he didn’t manage to win a single game. His record in the MLS sits at three draws and five defeats.
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But he seems to be in good spirits, and continuously impressed the Cincinnati supporters despite their woeful form this season.
His social media message seems to be very much along the lines of “trust the process”. He’ll know he has to make a big impact with Cincinnati to catch the eye of Neil Lennon.
The current left-back situation is tricky enough for the likes of Greg Taylor. If Gutman wants to fire himself to the front of the line, he has plenty of work to do. Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo is clearly a favourite of Neil Lennon’s, but that’s the challenge Gutman has ahead of him.
It will be interesting to see whether he comes back during the off-season to train at Lennoxtown. The new MLS campaign isn’t set to start until February, so there’s plenty of time to kill before Cincinnati return to pre-season. In any case, the road to the Celtic first-team remains long for the left-back.