Celtic Diary Wednesday May 6: Now To The Next Stage

There was another, perhaps more significant ,glimpse into life under ronny deila when Stefan johansen spoke about his early career, how it was going nowhere, and how Ronny came to his rescue…

“Some people talked about my attitude, that I needed to change it. Some people like to think they know more than they do.

“The people who said that, they will know it for themselves.

“I have to be honest, though, my attitude has changed a little. 

“I have always had a talent for football. But at the end of my time at Bodo/Glimt, sometimes I was played as a winger and I spoke up and said it wasn’t my position.

“I got some chances but in the end my contract ran out there and I didn’t care too much. In the last six months or year there, I had a bad attitude.

“When I spoke to Ronny and he wanted me at Stromsgodset, I just felt like I had a new energy. He believed in where I felt I should play. He believed in me as a better footballer and allowed me to show my skills.

“I felt it was time for me to find a new motivation at the end of my time at Bodo/Glimt. I was never thinking about quitting football. But, when you’re younger, some players need to be told what to do. I was one of them.

“But the guys who are telling you also need to understand you. At Stromsgodset, it changed for me under Ronny. 

“As a footballer, you’ve maybe one or two training sessions every day. It’s not like working from 8am to 4pm in an office. You have to be prepared so that when you’re out on the pitch you are at 100 per cent every time.

“The most important thing for me under Ronny was becoming a 24-hour athlete. I had to think about everything I did, not sit on the computer until midnight. Go to bed at 11pm instead. Those are things I needed to learn.

“When you are young, you don’t know better. You think having pizza is OK, but it’s not how it works. I’ve learned so much over the last few years, things about sleep and recovering after games. That’s the reason I can play 60 or 70 games in a season.”  

I’m going to email that to Martin Odegaard, currently throwing his toys out of the pram at Real Madrid, where he made the mistake of thinking he was already at that level.

But apart from that, Johansen is the epitomy of what a professional footballer should be, and having him around can only be good for those around him. The press are reporting interest in him from far and near, but he seems happy enough, and may be one of those who has caught the same Celtic bug that others such as Henrik Larsson did in the past;

“The fans here are very special to play in front of. I’ve never experienced anything like it before.

“We played away from home in the Europa League but anywhere we went, I never saw fans like ours.

“It’s an honour to have them cheering our team. They can be the difference between whether a player signs here or not. The fans are a huge part of this club.

“I don’t think it’s for nothing that many big players have enjoyed playing at Celtic Park. I do feel at home here. Scottish people are nice. Everywhere you go you feel welcome in the city.

“It feels like we are on the verge of something special now. When you get so close to a treble it makes you more motivated for next year. Things look very good for Celtic right now.

“I came to Celtic to win trophies. I’ve won the league twice and the League Cup and I’ve still got more ambitions to win more trophies with Celtic.

All of the players and all of the fans want us to be in the Champions League next year and I’ve never experienced that as a football player. I’m looking forward to next season.” 

It’s about time we found a non-Scot who did what we want on the park and spoke how we’d like to hear off it.

Another jewel in the crown at Celtic is the revitalised Nir Bitton. He finally got a shot on target in Fridays match against Dundee, and it would have been a stand out for goal of the season had it not been for the tippy tappy has everyone had a touch now we can score effort that grabbed the headlines.

 Bitton is currently pulling the strings in midfield, offering a cool head and a fair share of slide rule passes that can start an attack. alongside the energy of Scott Brown and Stefan Johansen, he is the perfect foil, and it’s no surprise that there is interest in him as well.

 Club Brugge have apparently registered a desire to swap him for one of their players, which is , er, flattering, but there will be others.

 Bitton is under contract until June 2017, so there is no imediate rush to sell, and he’s also on record as saying that Deila has improved his game. Keeping him may show an ambition on the field at Celtic that matches the desire to balance the books. could it be worth offering an improved extension ? to test the water ?

Problems, or at least a potential problem, remains at centre half.

Virgil van Dijk has been linked with Arsenal again, and most of us expect him to go somewhere this summer. Again, he has been diplomatic about Celtic, and has lost a bit of that restlessness that featured around twelve months ago. Has he realised that he’s better off continuing to learn ?

” I’m focused on the present. Look, Scotland is of course no Bundesligue or Premier League . every footballer, and I’m no different, wonders whether he can do it at a higher level. 

I have that confidence in myself, but at Celtic I am not stopping learning, especially in European competitions. “

Van Dijks contract runs out on the same day as Bitton’s. Again, there is no rush to sell, but it might be worth testing the water by offering an improved extension.

Keeping those two, at least for the champions League qualifiers and hopefully groups, would do neither club nor player any harm.

Just a thought.

It looks like there will be a bit of a clearout, which is why Deila needs to keep the spine of his chosen first eleven if he can.

Charlie Mulgrew and Anthony Stokes, both reliable players when called upon, could well be on their way. Bournemouth are looking at Mulgrew, though I can’t figure out how. The last time he played was months ago, so it would be a bit of a risk for them if he was top of their shopping list.

Stokes is dropping down the pecking order, and is one of our senior players. Maybe he’s thinking of that last big contract, which he would more than likely get down south.

The squad will get thinner when the likes of Tonev, Wakaso, Zaluska, Boerrigter and others are finally off loaded, and whilst youngsters will be promoted, theres still a couple of gaps to fill.

If Efe Ambrose and Adam Matthews aren’t going to be first teamers, although theres no guarantee that Mikael Lustig will last a full season, then they will look elsewhere. Kris commons may have signed a new deal, and his family may be settled, but the emergence and success of Johansen at number ten, combined with the energy of Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay Steven on the flanks will see his opportunities limited.

Come christmas, he might fancy stepping away to get regular football.

It looks like Ronny deila has cemented his reputation at the club, with the board, the players and the fans.

He isn’t daft. He will stamp his mark on the club with increasing firmness as the next few months go by.

Lets hope he stamps it on the scouts as well, because frankly so far what has been mentioned doesn’t seem good enough.

Celtic were in France looking at youngsters last week. the press have mentioned a variety of underwhelming names over the last couple of weeks, mostly from markets where the club has had little or no success.

A rethink on policy is needed, and quickly, otherwise we might be in a bit of trouble come the qualifiers.

We don’t want a repeat of the scenes when we sold Kenny Dalglish and replaced him with John Dowie.

We mentioned yesterday that we had no idea what the new Celtic second kit was going to look like, and we’d like to say the third kit has us stumped as well

Elsewhere, and contrary to what you might have read, Mike Ashley has not been dragged from his bed by the police and thrown down the stairs. Despite the papers up north gleefully claiming that he “might have to take a back step”-actually, thats where I head when the rozzers chap the door- due to having his “doors kicked in ” what actually happened is explained in a statement from Sports Direct.

“The premises of Sports Direct at Shirebrook were visited by Police Scotland conducting an investigation relating to Glasgow Rangers FC and various persons previously employed by and or associated with Rangers.

“The police investigation is not directed at Sports Direct or at any of its directors or employees. The police were seeking documentation which might assist the investigation.

“Sports Direct has co-operated fully and will continue to co-operate in the provision of information that the police request.”  

David Murray, who sold Old Rangers for a pound, way way above market value, was unavailable for comment. Largely because no-one asks him anything any more.

An old drunk told us that he’s currently buying up the assets of some of his other companies, which also went into liquidation.

Could this be the master plan, to allow Dodgy Dave to get his hands on Ibrox again ?

Honestly, you’d think they were all at it if you believed some of the stories you hear.

Thankfully, we have the mainstream media to keep us right.

If you are struggling to find something to keep the kids amused in the upcoming school holidays, you could encourage their imagination and creativity with these new box sets, from the Huddleboards El hudd.

Well, the diary was getting all serious today, and I’ve ran out of Diana jokes.

Perhaps it isn’t fair to mock those who have passed on.

I remember when a mate of mine was run over a red lorry and a yellow lorry. And then another red lorry.

I remember  the policeman breaking the news to his wife…

“There’s no easy way to say this… ”

The picture yesterday featured the 3-3 draw in 1967 between the Scottish and English Cup holders. Celtic and Tottenham.

Who are these three ? And what’s being said ?