Source: Team_Talk
O'Dea: Parkhead change was needed
Darren O'Dea claims he had to leave Celtic last summer to alter the perception of him as simply a promising youngster.[LNB] The 23-year-old defender came through the ranks at Parkhead but after failing to pin down a regular first team spot he went out on loan at the start of the season to Reading.[LNB]He returned in January and due in part to injuries to Glenn Loovens, Thomas Rogne and Jos Hooiveld, the Irishman has become a mainstay of the Hoops' defence and now he wants to be judged solely on ability.[LNB]"I wanted to get away from Celtic for a few months," he told BBC Alba's CLUB TV programme[LNB]"I wanted to be at Celtic but I had to get away for different reasons.[LNB]"One of the main reasons was that I was sick of being looked at as a young kid breaking through.[LNB]"I've been here since I was 15 and people like Tommy Burns instilled into me that I should appreciate what I have at this club every day.[LNB]"I know how big Celtic is and how proud I am and should be about playing for the club. Leaving showed me even more how big the club was.[LNB]"I've been here for eight years now and I've never seen anything different.[LNB]"Getting away for a few months, I think, did me the world of good.[LNB]"I improved as a player and improved more as a person, becoming a bigger and stronger character.[LNB]"I'm 23 and I'm more than capable of playing week in, week out with the pressure of it all.[LNB]"And if I'm not then I shouldn't be at a club like this. I don't want the excuse of my age anymore."[LNB]However, O'Dea admits he still feels too young to be a Celtic skipper.[LNB]He was handed the captain's armband on several occasions before former manager Tony Mowbray appointed Scott Brown skipper on a permanent basis.[LNB]The Irishman said: "To be captain of a club like Celtic is massive, but it was only a temporary thing. It was just a few games.[LNB]"Scott Brown was always going to be the captain and rightly so.[LNB]"I'm not ready to be the captain of the club now; I've not learnt enough, I've not played enough.[LNB]"Hopefully, in years to come if I'm lucky enough to still be playing here, it'll be something that I'd love to do.[LNB]"But, just now, it's not the right time."
