GREG TAYLOR may have been looking up to Andy Robertson as a role model for the last few years, but this week has given the Celtic left-back cause to look at the Liverpool star with envy too.

The Scotland captain has been enjoying the celebrations that have followed the arrival of the first English Premier League trophy at Anfield for 30 years, and while Taylor is delighted for his international teammate, he can’t help but feel a little jealous after the Celtic players were denied the opportunity to share their own title success together.

With his manager Neil Lennon shifting the focus of his players towards next season and the tilt at a record-breaking tenth title in a row, Taylor is resigned to the possibility that the Celtic squad may never get to properly toast the achievements of the campaign just past. And if anything, the days spent casting covetous glances towards the festivities on Merseyside are making him all the more determined to have reason to celebrate again come next summer.

“Seeing them have that moment together, it did make me feel like that,” Taylor said.

“We have still not actually been able to do that so there is a wee bit of jealousy.

“We were delighted to get nine in a row and it’s a massive achievement for the club but it would have been nice to celebrate it in front of the fans or just have that moment as a team.

“I texted [Andy] this morning to say well done and what a season. He got back to me after training to say thanks very much, top man. So, it was brief.

“He has been enjoying his celebrations but listen, it’s fully deserved. It’s been a long time coming for them.

“We had the odd Zoom call, a wee FaceTime with a few of the guys but the focus now is all on next season. We might miss out on that which is a wee bit of a downer.

“Equally it is my first major trophy and I don’t want to downplay how proud that made me and my family.

“I was on the pitch at the end of the League Cup Final but I was cup tied so those celebrations weren’t quite the same for me. As much as I was delighted for the boys, I hadn’t played a minute in that competition so I wasn’t really part of it. I was ecstatic for them, but I can’t claim that one.

“I did get a moment with the league trophy, a chance to hold it and have my photo taken so that was good. To at least have that memento is good, something to put away.

“Hopefully we’ll get our medals soon too. But I’d really like to get the chance to lift a trophy in front of the fans too.”

What made the curtailment of the season all the more frustrating for Taylor is that he felt he was just really hitting his straps as a Celtic player at the time.

His manager had publicly stated certain areas of Taylor’s game that had to improve before he would be able to force his way into the starting 11, chiefly in an attacking sense, a challenge that the former Kilmarnock man was rising to.

“It took me some time to get in but after January I managed to get a good run,” he said.

“I was loving every minute up until what happened.

“I have improved on that attacking aspect and just being at Celtic every day you are constantly learning. You are training and playing with better players and it rubs off.

“I love going in every day. Every day is a learning day. The main thing I’ve learned is judging when to push forward and attack. That’s a process I have worked on with Kendo (John Kennedy) a lot.

“He has definitely coached me into a better player, both on the ball and in terms of playing inside more. I was used to having a winger in front of me at Kilmarnock so it was more about feeding the ball and keeping that rigid four at the back.

“I would support going forward but now the onus is on me to attack and hold wide and play into the two strikers we were using in the latter part of the season.

“I was enjoying that. It’s all about timing. I was used to backing up the play at Killie, now I need to be the one bombing and hitting the byline at times. It’s something I have enjoyed.

“Especially when we moved to a 3-5-2. As wing-back there was even more onus on me to get forward and probably hold the whole left side myself.

“It was tougher, something I really had to work on and something I’m still trying to work on.

“I think I racked four or five assists which was good. Hopefully I can get a few more in the new season.”

What the prolonged lay-off has afforded the Celtic players is a lengthy gap between finishing the previous season before hurtling into the early Champions League qualifiers. While that has allowed them to prepare more thoroughly in a physical sense, it has also given them more time to consider just how important the fixtures are to the club after two seasons without reaching the group stages.

“The Champions League qualifiers will be massive,” he said. “We want to be playing in Europe’s top competition.

“I got the chance to play in the Europa League last season, three or four games, and that was amazing. But we want to be playing in the Champions League and that will be our aim come August.

“The manager has not really spoken to us about our goals for the season yet. It’s been about getting a touch of the ball and having the legs run off us! So, there’s been no time for talking, I’ve been too busy blowing!

“We have been working so hard but I’m sure the sit down will come eventually."