How Tomoki Iwata’s J. League Title Experience is Helping Him at Celtic

Celtic midfielder Tomoki Iwata played his part in yesterday’s 2-1 win at Dens Park, coming on to shore things up in the midfield.

Iwata didn’t start the Game but he came on for Callum McGregor just after the hour mark. It has to be said that the skipper did not look his usual self amid a gradual return from injury.

McGregor regularly came up short in 50/50 challenges and made several stray passes. When Iwata was introduced, he brought defensive protection and an organisation to the engine room that had been missing. His presence also allowed for more ball-retention.

Despite being benched for the past two Games, the 27-year-old still has a part to play in the run-in, and he is hoping his experiences from his time at Yokohama F. Marinos can help him succeed in Glasgow.

Going into the last Game of the 2022 season, the Marinos needed to avoid defeat to secure the J. League title.

Iwata had never felt pressure like it and admitted such strain caused his team to play differently.

He said: [RecordSport] “As the Games got less and less in the season – and the pressure built up – we couldn’t play the way we wanted to.

“It was a lot of pressure but I don’t fear pressure. We had confidence that we could win the league and we managed to achieve it.”

It remains to be seen whether the current season will go to the final day but Iwata’s prior experiences will aid him if it does.

“Experiencing that pressure with Yokohama in 2022 is definitely helping me here at Celtic because it’s similar”, said the midfielder.

“We still have some Games left here this season but I don’t feel nervous or not confident enough going into it.

“We have our own style of play at Celtic and as long as we prepare properly to play our own way, we’ll be ready to get the results we want in the title race.

“You never know what’s going to happen in the future so I can’t comment on whether it will come down to the last day.”