Christopher Jullien may not be ready to contribute on the park for Ange Postecoglou but the French defender is clearly looking forward to working with the new Celtic manager when he arrives at Lennoxtown this week.
“I can’t wait!” Jullien admitted. “I’m looking forward to, first of all, meeting the manager and seeing how he is. He’ll be excited for the new challenge and we are too.
“I’ve heard from a lot of guys who have worked with him and they all say the same thing, that he’s a great manager who has good tactics and has his teams play good football. That’s really exciting for us, and now I can’t wait for the first training session with him,” the Celtic star told Celtic View reporter Tony Donnelly.
“The experience he has of winning and building a team with quality is exciting and I can’t wait to be part of it.
“When I was playing in France, we changed coaches and when there’s a new coach it changes every aspect of the team. It brings energy and helps players find their best form.
“Everyone is starting anew and we all have to prove ourselves and prove that we deserve to play. There’s going to be competition for the whole team and that’s good for everyone,” Jullien added.
“We know he’s going to come and bring his ideas to European football and he’ll be able to show everyone what he’s capable of. To succeed in the way he has and to have that winning mentality, is already something big and he’ll want to show everyone how his teams can play. I’m can’t wait to be part of that, to achieve the goals with him and to succeed.
“I always want to work under a coach who can help me learn and improve every day and I can’t wait to start learning from all his knowledge and experience. I know he’ll help me to become a better player so I’m excited to start and see what he brings to the whole team.”
Jullien arrived back for pre-season training last week after spending several months rehabilitating from his knee injury picked up at the end of December back home in Paris. He’d also had a spell out of the team at the start of last season with a back injury and his absence was a major factor in that horrible season we had to endure.
He’ll find fewer French speakers at the club these days with neither of our French want aways – Odsonne Edouard and Olivier Ntcham – likely to play for Celtic again. France though remains a market that has served Celtic well and hopefully we’re on the look out for re-enforcements of our own French Foreign Legion. Allez Les Verts!
