Oxlade-Chamberlain relishing Celtic 'pressure cooker'

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain says the Celtic “pressure cooker” is the ideal environment for him to thrive.

The England international signed a short-term deal with the Parkhead club in February and helped them win a league and Scottish Cup double last season.

The 32-year-old signed a new deal earlier this summer and is hungry for more success, starting with Monday’s Scottish Premiership opener against Dundee.

“When the opportunity to come here last year came up, the fact that it was going to be a challenge, I really enjoyed that,” he said.

“The idea of just trying to do whatever I could to give some experience or, at times, a few moments of quality that could help the lads go on to achieve what we did. The way it ended up was like dreamland stuff.

“That’s what I thrive off. I’m fortunate enough to have been in teams where there is an expectation to win but also, at the same time, the reality is there’s a lot of really, really good teams that make it really hard to win. I thrive in that pressure cooker.

“That’s exactly the same mentality that’s here. I definitely need that and especially now, I think that helps me bring the most out of myself at this point in my career.

“Having that and having the hunger and young players pushing and striving to be the best they can and go and win as much as they can, that’s massive.

“Then you see guys in the dressing room like Cal [McGregor] and Jamesy [Forrest] that have won lots that still want to win.

“Seeing that and being next to that helps you to keep pushing and keep that motivation, even at this later stage of my career. I think that whole environment is what I need and I definitely thrive off that.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain was without a club for the first half of last season after leaving Besiktas and is relishing a full summer-s preparation.

“This is probably actually my first proper pre-season in a good three years,” he said.

“You still get that same buzz and I’m still running around with a few 16, 17-year-olds out there who are excited. So you feed off that energy and you feel the same age as always.

“Without the pre-season you can never 100 per cent know if you’re fully fit or durable enough to last for the whole season. So that’s really important. We’ll have to see early on how that goes and how I’m feeling. But right now I feel great.”