More from Oliver Abildgaard’s appearance at Celtic’s pre-match Media Conference ahead of today’s game against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park in Perth.
The midfielder talked about missing so much football due to his situation at his parent club in Russia but says he is working hard to reach full match-fitness and show the qualities that convinced Celtic to bring him to the club. Oliver Abildgaard is named as a substitute for today’s game and you can get the team news from both teams HERE.
“I would lie if I said it was easy, because I was training on my own for three months and it’s easy enough to maintain general fitness, but in terms of football fitness and specific exercising, it takes some time to come back.
Photo by Kieran McManus/Shutterstock KieranxMcManus/Shutterstockx 13439496cv
“But I’m on the right track now and all the staff and the physical coaches are helping me get back to my level and where I should be. So I’m getting there slowly and trying to be patient but it does take some time. In order to reach my top fitness, I need to play games regularly week by week. This is what gets me there so it’s hard to say how far I am from that.
“Since I didn’t play for four months, it will definitely take more than just a couple of games to get back, but once I am at my top level, my aims are to contribute to the team as best as possible.
“I’m very happy to take part now in the games, I was also happy just joining the team and trying to reach my fitness during training sessions. ‘Obviously my aim is to play games regularly and it’s nice to start that period now.’
Timo Werner RB Leipzig,11 gegen Oliver Abildgaard Celtic Glasgow
On his experiences of going along to watch the 4-0 win over theRangers at the start of September and the Champions League opener against Real Madrid, Oliver Abildgaard admitted he was blown away by the incredible Celtic support.
“I tried before going to the stadium to have a feeling of how it was supposed to be, but I was absolutely blown away. I must say it’s a very special place to be and the atmosphere was amazing in both games, and I’m just looking forward to experiencing that again.
“I was a spectator at the derby (skelping) and I was on the bench in the away game at St Mirren. They were very different games, but none of them are easy, that is my first impression and that it’s a tough league.
“If you don’t perform at your very highest level, you will struggle in all the games, not only against the good sides. I know what challenges wait for me when I’m able to play regularly and I’m very confident that I’ll be able to deal with these challenges and contribute to the team.’
“They know why they brought me here, my main strengths as a player. I will just try to implement that as well as possible in order for us to achieve our collective goal to win as many games as possible.
“When I’m at my best they can expect to see a classic No.6 that will help my centre-back as well as my offensive midfielders – to be kind of this link between them.
“I will help the defenders, support them in their defensive work and win as many duels as possible as well as contributing to the build-up play. They can expect to see a player who wants to win everything in the world and playing with heart.”
