Bodo Glimt striker Runar Espejord has big boots to fill, having signed from Dutch side Heerenveen to replace star striker Erik Botheim, who left the Norwegian champions during the Norwegian close season for Krasnodar in a £4.5m transfer.
And there will be no room for a gradual introduction to competitive football with his new employers, as he’s likely to be asked to lead the line against Celtic tomorrow night in the first leg of the Europa Conference League Play off for a place in the last 16 at Celtic Park.
As reported by Daily Record, Espejord whose team are still in pre-season, ahead of an April start of the domestic Norwegian season, is excited by the prospect but insists there will be no excuses made regarding Bodo/Glimt’s preparedness for the game or the famous atmosphere the Norwegian champions will face.
“It will be very exciting. It is an unusual start to a football year for us Norwegian football players. It’s an insanely stylish match to start the year with all the glitter around it. I’m really looking forward to it. Not many people get to experience these types of matches.
“It’s a bit unusual for us to be in our pre-season before having such a big European game like this. We have used the last few weeks really well to make sure we are prepared for this match against Celtic. I don’t think we can use having no competitive games as an excuse. The right way for us to do things is preparing as best we can and then go into the game and see what happens.”
“They are a huge club with a lot of history so it’s an exciting game for us to look forward to. They have always been one of the biggest clubs in Scotland who are famous in Europe as well. We have done our research on Celtic over the last few weeks so know what to expect.”
“I have never played against a Scottish side before and this will be my first trip to the country and I can’t wait. I have heard it might be a bit wetter than Norway but I am from a northern point in Norway so I am used to the cold weather so that won’t be a shock.”
And Espejord feels a trip to Turkey to face the fans of Besiktas will hold him in good stead ahead of a visit to a rocking Parkhead and he’s looking to get off the scoring mark at the first time of asking with a goal on Thursday night.
“The most intense atmosphere I have had was a game against Besiktas in Turkey, it was wild.I have heard a lot about the atmosphere at Celtic Park and I’ve heard they are crazy, so I am looking forward to it. I love a good atmosphere and it inspires me. You don’t get it too often so you have to enjoy it.”
“I would love to make a good impression on my debut by scoring. I have worked hard in pre-season to make sure I am ready for the game in Glasgow. I’ve had a few injuries in my career so I have to be careful and not rush things but it would be fun to make my competitive debut in Glasgow.”
“Stefan is a few years older than me but he is something of an inspiration to young players after doing so well at Celtic and now in England. It’s always good to see someone who has come from your country doing well in their career abroad.”
“Considering we have snow for ten months of the year it’s quite impressive that guys can become professional players at that level.The conditions aren’t exactly on your side in Norway, so it’s always inspiring to see guys making it to the big time.”
“I wasn’t here at the time (the 6-1 win over Roma) but I watched it on TV and it was one hell of a game and it was certainly fun to watch. We have to take confidence from the Roma game and believe we can beat Celtic.”
“If you go into the game not thinking we can win then we will be in trouble. We have to go into the game with a belief that we can win and play our own game. We look at one game at a time and our philosophy is always the same, home or away. As a team we liked to control the game and that’s what we will be aiming to do in Glasgow. We like to play entertaining football.”
Niall J
