'They are normal humans but when you watch them on TV they are superstars' - Buckie Thistle midfielder Max Barry rubbed shoulders with Celtic stars but wants to focus on Highland League glory now
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The Celtic Park experience was fantastic for Buckie Thistle midfielder Max Barry - now it's time to concentrate on winning the Highland League.
Former Aberdeen player Barry was one of Jags' stars in Sunday's Scottish Cup fourth round tie in front of a 40,000 crowd, with holders Celtic eventually winning 5-0.
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He said every Buckie player gave their all, and hopes the opportunity to play on a major platform can be a springboard towards league honours.
"Playing against players of that calibre, obviously they are levels above us but just going toe-to-toe with them, it puts into perspective the difference between part-time and full-time," Barry said.
"I know we’ve conceded five but teams at a higher level than us concede more than that. I think we’ve done the Buckie fans proud, and ourselves and the coaching staff.
"This game is done now, it’s in the past and as much as it's good everyone will remember it, it's time to focus on winning the league.
"We’ve come up short in the last two weeks, hopefully it's third time lucky."
The 21-year-old swapped shirts with Celtic goal hero Paulo Bernardo, and was surprised to discover how "normal" the international stars in the home ranks were.
"It’s good just to speak to them afterwards. They are normal humans but when you watch them on TV they are superstars and being able to speak to them is nice.
"Brendan Rodgers came into our changing room afterwards and said a few words, saying we’ve done Buckie proud and he was impressed by how we set up."
Many of the Jags players looked leg weary before the end of the match, yet kept battling until the final whistle.
Barry said it was one of the most tiring matches of his career, but not the most exhausting.
"It’s up there, but there was one pre-season game last year at Dunfermline in the Viaplay Cup, because it was pre-season it was maybe a bit tougher.
"It’s because we set up a bit differently to this game, here we played a lot deeper and set up to soak up pressure instead of being strung out."
