Colby Donovan: Focus is on getting back to winning ways this week

It has been a week of mixed emotions for Colby Donovan, having endured a disappointing derby debut last weekend at Ibrox but finding out just 48 hours later that he has been called up to the Scotland national squad for the first time. The defender, who turned 20 just over a week ago, was naturally delighted to have been included in Sébastien Pocognoli’s first international squad since taking over as Scotland manager, and alongside Celtic team-mate, Kieran Tierney. Scotland will face four games against Switzerland, North Macedonia and Sloevia twice, and Donovan would love to be involved in those fixtures. Speaking ahead of the European match, Donovan said: “As a young player, it's always a big achievement to play for your country and represent them. So when I heard about the call-up, I was buzzing, and I can't wait for it. “I remember after the last game there was a lot of talk about it and people were asking me, but I was just focused on playing my game and I know I wasn't quite there as such, “So I'm really happy that the gaffer at Scotland has picked me and he's got real faith in me, so hopefully I can go and repay him.”However, Donovan’s focus for now is solely on club matters, with Celtic facing two big games this week – a Europa League tie against Ferencvaros on Thursday night followed by a league clash with Rangers at home on Sunday. “We know that Europa League is a big competition,” he said. “Even last year, there were a lot of games I played in, and a lot of experience I got in this competition. So we're hoping this year we can go far and hopefully do better than we did last year. “That's a good thing about being in Europe. When there are bad moments that happen, you've got a chance to get back on track. “We can go out again and play in this big competition in Europe and give it a real good go, and then we go again on Sunday. “We take a big ownership in happened on Sunday and we know we weren't at our best, so going into tomorrow night and Sunday, I'm sure we'll be a lot different. “Tomorrow night is a huge game for us, and we know we need to repay the fans. We just want to put a real marker down and get building again for Sunday.”FixturesCeltic Vs. Ferencvárosi TC - Thu, Sep 17th 2026, 20:00