Paulo Bernardo on Jota’s good start and ‘Perfect Captain’ Calmac

Jota has only been back for a short time

Jota has only been back for a short time, but is already beginning to rediscover the form and flair that caused Celtic to shell out £6.5 million for him in the winter window. A bargain at twice the price. With four goals and two assists to his name in just a handful of games, Jota on the wing is not taking his time to get back up to speed like his manager had stated when he returned, instead opting for the quickstyle trunaround in a Celtic shirt.

Paulo Bernardo took some time to praise his friend and even stated that he will be different class once he’s fully up to speed next season for the Bhoys.

‘He feels much better now than he was when he arrived’

“Jota has already shown a lot of quality during these games,” he said via Daily Record. “I spoke to him and he feels much better now than he was when he arrived. I think he’s really important to the squad. At his age I think there is more to come from him and he came here to show that too.

“He wants to show his quality and he is doing really well at the moment. He’s working hard at Lennoxton every day. I think the best will come from him.”

Speaking in the mother tongue helps both as it does Daizen and Reo 

It’s not just the player’s abilities for Paulo, but his mother tongue, as he now has someone to speak Portuguese with regularly outside of his own home. “It means I can speak Portuguese here, and not just with my girlfriend! It’s been nice to have him back. He’s a fantastic footballer and I think he improves the levels in our squad and our strength in many ways. It’s really nice to have him here,” the midfielder said.

When asked more specifically about Jota’s skillset and that superb ability to glide last players with ease, he agreed that he definitely brings that something special in the team.

“That’s true,” Paulo continued. “He goes one-on-one with defenders. For them it’s hard to know when he goes or when he stays with the ball. It’s difficult to know. Jota likes the pressure and he likes to take risks, to go at defenders and to see where he can go. He has a strong mentality too, because it’s not easy to come back to a place that he was so good at.

“You risk it to come back and to see if he can do better. He shows a strong mentality to come back and to see what he can do.”

The engine-room operator returned back to the pitch last weekend against Hearts, after several weeks out following an injury sustained in a match with Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup this year. He’s itching to get back and help the team to potentially secure a domestic Treble, whilst he has the U21 Euros with his country as vice-captain this summertime too.

“It’s better than last summer! It’s a short holiday but that doesn’t bother me”

“It’s nice to know how things will go. It’s better than last summer! It’s a short holiday but that doesn’t bother me. It’s the Euros and I want to be involved. I want to play in the tournament again. I played the Euros before and it was a great experience,” Bernardo said.

“I was one of the youngest, now I’m one of the oldest. It will be nice to have that experience too. I am really looking forward to the tournament. It’s a good opportunity for me and the team.

“We’ll have three games in the group stage. I want to finish the season well and then think about the Euros. These will be my final games with the Portugal Under-21 team and it would mean a lot to me to have success with them. Let’s see where it takes us.

“Hopefully we can do well. We have France, Poland and Georgia in the group. It will be difficult but we hope to do well.”

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