Bodø/Glimt striker Runar Espejord yesterday discussed this evening’s match up against Celtic and explained his side aren’t arriving in Glasgow armed with excuses although admitted it will be strange playing such a big tie in the middle of their pre-season build up.
If anyone knows the danger of playing such important European games during their pre season it is Celtic, who back in the summer were dumped out of the Champions League in the qualifiers when they went out in extra time to fellow Scandinavian club Midtjylland.
“It will be very exciting. It is an unusual start to a football year for us Norwegian football players,” Espejord said at the Norwegian side’s pre-match media conference, as reported by Daily Record. “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,” the new striker Bodø/Glimt striker added.
Espejord was signed from Dutch outfit Heerenveen last month as a replacement for star man Erik Botheim who departed for Krasnodar in a bumper £4.5m deal. Espejord has played in the Eliteserien before representing Tromso where he impressed although it will be a tough gig trying to replace Botheim who was instrumental in them winning the league last season.
Talking about the atmosphere he expects as his new side take the field tomorrow night, he insists that he’s looking forward to it and expects it to inspire him. He said: “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.”
The Norwegian champions created one of the biggest upsets so far this season on the European stage when they hammered Jose Mourinho’s Roma 6-1 in the Europa League Conference League group stages. Later they proved the home result was no fluke by heading to Rome and leaving with a 2-2 draw.
Espejord didn’t play in these games as he was still playing for Hereenveen back in Holland, but states his side must take confidence from those results heading into this mammoth tie with Celtic.
“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.”
Clearly it would be folly for Celtic to underestimate the Norwegian champions, but the fact they are in pre season while we are in peak condition half way through our season having just come off a winter break means Celtic have a major advantage.
Celtic have been boosted by having the majority of their injured players return recently just in time for this crucial double header. Bodø/Glimt have also been weakened during their off season with a few of their top performers leaving during that time.
Celtic will have a fantastic opportunity to catch the Norwegians cold during the opening half at Parkhead tonight. The intensity we have saw them produce in the first 45 minutes of games recently such as against theRangers, Motherwell and Aberdeen would surely be too much for a team who will have experienced nothing like that during their pre season.
I’m really looking forward to this one.
Conall McGinty
