Efe must transfer training form fast

IN the excellent Chad Harbach novel The Art of Fielding, reference is made to a character known to one and all as Two-Thirty. Why? Because people would gather in large numbers to watch him hit baseballs for miles and miles during batting practice at, yes, half past two most afternoons. The kicker to this tale of an excellent athlete capable of producing such timing and power, of course, was that poor old Two-Thirty couldn’t connect with a beach ball thrown underarm once games actually began. Which brings us neatly, if somewhat obliquely, to the subject of Celtic’s defence. And particularly to the continued conundrum that is Efe Ambrose (right), who is blessed with strength, speed enough to compete, a good grounding in the positional arts and that competitive edge without which no player reaches the senior professional ranks. You can bet that the Nigerian looks wonderful in training, making perfectly-timed tackles and reading situations before they even develop, strolling out from the back and pinging pin-point passes. But the wastelands of the beautiful game are awash with players who did remarkable things in coaching sessions, causing managers to purr in anticipation of what this latest phenomenon might do to the opposition... just you wait. Ronny had few options but to express faith in Ambrose in the wake of the central defender’s brain-melting, game-changing error of judgment in last week’s 2-2 draw with Fenerbahce. Failure to win could hardly be laid entirely at the feet of one player, of course. There are issues for Deila to tackle in several areas of the park. Just none more pressing than this. Unless the Celtic manager has a more capable alternative fully fit and ready to step into the gap, though, he has to keep working with Ambrose, continue talking up the personal advances made during the last year — and hope, as so many before him have hoped, that the excellence so evident so often endures until kick-off and beyond.