“I definitely want to stay and play in the Champions League again. I’m still a Celtic player and I’m happy here. I’m just looking forward,” said
Celtic defender Jozo Simunovic after yesterday’s fine 3-0 victory against Alashkert in the intense heat in Armenia. The result makes the return tie something of a formality and Celtic can look forward to the second qualifying round.
Simunovic was linked to a move to French side Lille who were reported to be considering a £5million bid for the Celtic star who dropped out of the side for most of the second half of last season.
“I don’t worry about interest from other clubs. I’m here and I’m happy playing games. That’s the most important things.
“It’s not just about me — a lot of clubs are keen on other boys,” Jozo observed.
“You can be sure that we are giving everything here and aren’t thinking about offers. Celtic play European football every year.
“Every player in the world wants to play in the Champions League. It’s the best competition there is.”
Jozo has worked particularly hard during the pre-season to get himself as fit as possible as he aims to win back his regular starting place in Brendan Rodgers’ side.
“For sure this is the fittest I’ve felt for some time. I had some time off and some sunshine.
“But I definitely feel much better than last season. Injuries are part of football especially if you are playing in every game.
“You need some time to adapt yourself to play the number of games Celtic play.
“But I am here and going day by day. I feel better than last year and that’s the most important thing.
“Of course there’s competition for places but I’m here and I’m not scared of anybody. I believe in myself. The gaffer needs to pick the best players to play. I have nothing against that.
“The competition is something I welcome. You need that — players pushing you more and more. I’m looking forward to the season.”
Simunovic looked comfortable with the new tactical approach that sees Kieran Tierney move into midfield and allows Celtic to play with two strikers and it certainly worked yesterday with the scoreline proving the point. Three goals at one end and a clean sheet at the other seems to suggest it is a system that will improve Celtic this season.
“I’m fine with how we play. We started with three at the back and we changed to four later in the game, but me personally, I don’t have any problem with that.
“The other boys have also shown they can deal with that, so we looked good in both situations,” Jozo said.
“Every season is important for me, but every season is new and we all need to go game-by-game.”
Despite the scoreline, Simunovic reckoned the Armenian Champions were tough opponents and were very physical in their approach to the game.
“Alashkert were very aggressive, but we could deal with that. Some things did not look fair, but, they were going for the ball.
“Maybe the referee could have given more cards if he saw things another way, but it doesn’t matter.
“We are very happy with the result because we showed from the first minute that we were the team who wanted to dictate the tempo and the pace of the game.
“We looked good as a team and there is not much more to add to it.
The Celtic star also praised the way in which Brendan Rodgers had prepared the side for this game, noting that the extremely tough double session training in Austria had paid dividends.
“Our fitness was good towards the end and that’s because we went to Austria in pre-season and worked hard, as well as the fact we didn’t have a long break in the summer. That’s what made us ready,” he said.
And Simunovic was impressed by Celtic’s French strike force of Moussa Dembele an Odsonne Edouard.
“They have shown that they can cause problems for other clubs playing together in Europe this season. They’ve shown that they have everything. And I’m sure they are going to show more this season.
“Keeping them together isn’t a question for me. You would have to ask Peter Lawwell. I’m sure they are happy here and want to play in the Champions League.”
