RYAN CHRISTIE has revealed how he agonised over leaving the Ange Postecoglou revolution to join Bournemouth.
The former Celtic stand-out surprised many when he jumped ship to the modest South Coast outfit in the Championship as his contract ticked down at Parkhead.
With Bournemouth sitting in an automatic promotion spot right now, it’s a move which Christie DOESN’T regret – even if he admitted to those late doubts about leaving so soon after the arrival of the Hoops’ Australian gaffer.
The Scotland man also hit back at critics who claimed that he moved for the money – as he actually knocked back MORE cash elsewhere.
Postecoglou has transformed Celtic’s fortunes from the disarray of last season – with the Hoops now leading the Scottish Premiership by three points.
Christie told Football Scotland: “It was difficult at the time as well because at the start of the season I felt like I’d got a new lease of life again.
“It came at an annoying time because I felt my mind was made up and then it makes you question things.
“Ange came in and I loved working under him and then I whittled it down and at the age of 26, if my next contract was in at Celtic it would probably have been one that kept me in Scotland for the rest of my career.
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“I thought, ‘Is now the time to jump?’ But I needed to and I’m thankful I made that decision.
“I enjoyed his approach to it, you could tell the coach he was, he wasn’t taking any back-step, he was in from the go and ready to work.
“You kind of got the feeling that everybody had put the season before behind us.”
On the critics of his move, Christie said: “To be honest I’m old enough now not to really turn my head about the media now, especially after playing for Celtic.
“It didn’t really faze me all that much but it maybe fazed the people around me more. The move felt right.
“I’d known in my head for a while that I was at a point in my career where I wanted to try something different. Being in Scotland for so long.
“In terms of money there were moves on the table which would have been more financially beneficial which I went against.
“That proves in my mind that it wasn’t like that.
“When I moved within a few weeks I felt I’d made the right move and I’ve loved it ever since.
“The people closest to me knew, I speak to them so often, that through that period there were a lot of decisions to be made.
“I’m always going to lean on the people closest to me for advice and I felt they always got the feeling from me that I wanted a change.”