Ex-Owl Liam Shaw admits life after Sheffield Wednesday was ‘tough mentally’ amid Celtic freeze-out

The talented Owls youth product, who burst onto the scene under Garry Monk and made 24 appearances for his boyhood club, left on pre-contract terms to sign for Scottish giants Celtic alongside Osaze Urhoghide.

The move was a controversial one and caused frustration to large sections of the Wednesday fan base as the departure of ‘one of their own’ was confirmed as Wednesday crept closer to relegation from the Championship.

Some 18 months on, opportunities for Shaw to show what he can do in Celtic colours have been limited and he has found himself in the League One relegation zone with Morecambe on a season-long loan via an up-and-down stint at Motherwell.

Speaking to podcast The Players Piece, co-hosted by former Wednesday youngsters and twin brothers Josh and Alex Render, Shaw made no secret of the fact he is slightly disappointed with the way things have fallen for him since his move north – but vowed to continue working hard to earn a chance in Glasgow.

“I didn't really play much for six months when I was at Wednesday, then obviously for another six months with Celtic,” he said.

“That was a year where I didn't play, and that was one of the toughest parts of my career because I just wanted to play. That first six months at Celtic, I gave everything to be fair.

“I felt like I trained well but obviously it wasn't doing enough to get in the team. I went on loan to Motherwell and even then I was in and out of the Motherwell team.”

As Celtic are situated outside of England, they were able to negotiate a deal with Shaw’s representatives within six months of the end of his contract at S6. Wednesday were reported to have received a fee short of £300k for Shaw in the summer of 2021 as per the rules set by FIFA.

The follow-up exit of Urhoghide – now on loan at Belgian side KV Oostende – served to rub further salt into the wounds of frustrated Owls supporters.

Able to play both in midfield and defence, Shaw hopes his current stint at Morecambe can give his career a little kickstart. He has played 19 matches for the Shrimpers this season and has impressed with his efforts.

“It was 18 months where I hadn't played a full stretch of games,” he said. “When you are training and you know you are not going to be playing games it's tough mentally to get your head around that.

“When I was at Celtic I knew I wasn't going to be player, but I just kept training. It's tough, but I've come to Morecambe and had a good stretch of games and I'm enjoying it.

“You just improve yourself from that and it's important to play as many games as you can. [I want to] Keep Morecambe up and then go back to Celtic, and whatever will be will be. If I'm not part of the plans obviously I will go out on loan again.”