EURO TEST IS HUGE FOR CELTIC KID KRIS

Norwegian Kris will have to show his natives no hospitality as Celts aim for a shut-out against Bendtner & Co

TOMORROW night has the potential to be huge for Kristoffer Ajer.

I have to say that I don’t think the kid has done too much wrong since breaking into the Celtic first team around Christmas time last season, but this next month could be a huge test for him.

This is where we can see just how he can cope with the pressure of playing at Celtic in games that we all know are fraught because of what rests on them.

There is no question that Brendan Rodgers has a massive headache for tomorrow night. I thought Jozo Simunovic

was dreadfully naive with the tackle that saw him sent off against Alashkert and it has really put Celtic in a difficult position.

I know that sometimes at the start of the season you can be out with your timing but the lad was going nowhere and there was really no need to rush in the way he did. It is done now but it will have been hanging over Brendan all week.

He has opted not to recall Dedryck Boyata and although Mikael Lustig is back in the squad I honestly feel that this game against Rosenborg could come too quickly for him. He’ll be fit but he’s had a fortnight off and I just think that he will need some training to get back into things.

The sports science guys will have him thoroughly checked out and it might be a case of needs must simply to try and get through the game.

I actually covered Costa Rica’s game against Switzerland in the group stages of the World Cup at the start of the competition and I have to say that I was impressed by Cristian Gamboa. He has been back in training now for a couple of weeks and he might be one that we see tomorrow night.

In any case, with Nicklas Bendtner the guy whom Rosenborg will look to do the damage, this is the kind of night where Ajer will really need to come into his own. You’d expect that the Norwegian kid will be tasked with putting the shackles on the striker at set-pieces. I know there’s been a bit of chat about the fact that the Norwegians scrapped past Valur with a contentious lastminute penalty but it would be foolish for anyone to underestimate them.

They have an experienced guy up front in Bendtner who has been there and done it. People talk about him as though he is way over the hill but he’s 30 – he will still have plenty about him.

The former Arsenal man is an exceptionally experienced Denmark internationalist and he’ll play with his head in a game like this. One mistake and he’s savvy enough to punish it so I don’t think anyone should be under any illusions about this being a tough one.

I don’t think Celtic could have got a harder draw than AEK Athens in the third qualifying round. It just underlines what an