Celtic midfielder Joe Ledley has revealed he would be happy to stay with the club for the rest of his career after securing the SPL title at the weekend.
Many pundits were surprised when the Welshman chose to move to Scotland from Cardiff City but Ledley believes he’s answered his critics by helping the Hoops to win the league title, for the first time in four years, after Saturday’s emphatic 6-0 victory over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
And he says he can imagine playing for the club for the rest of his career.
“Some people have always questioned why I came here but for me there’s no doubt this answers the question,” Ledley told national newspapers.
“The very reason I came up to join Celtic was to win things. I’ve got two medals now and I want more.
“I’ve got another two years on my contract after this season, so I’ve still got a long time to go yet.
“But you never know what can happen in football and I could end up being here for life. If that is the deal, I’ll be very happy.”
The 25-year-old joined Neil Lennon’s men in 2010 but missed Celtic’s Scottish Cup final 3-0 win over Motherwell last year because of injury.
He was finally able to enjoy the on-the-park celebrations and revealed winning the SPL was one of the proudest moments of his career.
“This is one of the biggest achievements of my life. It feels amazing to have won the league,” he said.
“We have been fantastic this season and we proved it again this time against a very good Kilmarnock team.
“We deserve great credit I think because it’s a great achievement. We’ve played the best football in the SPL.
“Even when things weren’t going well for us we kept fighting, we are deserved champions.
“We didn’t have a great start to the season, but we’ve proved we’re the best team in Scotland.
“I think this vindicates the belief of the group.
“I thought we were unlucky not to win the title last season, but these things can happen in football.
“We have gone away and come back even stronger this season and proven ourselves. It’s a fantastic feeling.”
Boss Neil Lennon insisted the next step for the club was to reach the group stages of the Champions League and it is a view which is shared by Ledley.
“The main aim is to play Champions League and I have no doubts that we have the players to do it. We enjoy our football.”
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