You’ve got wrong guy if you try to pick on me
SAYS EFE AMBROSE
THE demeaning of Efe Ambrose has become a painful business to witness. In the light of some highlypublicised, costly errors by the Celtic defender, the ironic, sarcastic jeers and taunts of opposition supporters are now growing in volume.
‘The only thing you can do is shut them up and the place to do that is on the pitch,’ said a defiant Ambrose.
‘You have to make them realise it doesn’t matter what they say. It just encourages me to be better on the pitch.’
Some wonder how much he — or Celtic — can take. Scotland’s champions rejected previous moves for his services from Greece and Israel. Clubs in China are interested now, but Ambrose remains admirably committed to life at Parkhead.
‘The opposition supporters will never affect me,’ he continued. ‘Football is like this. Fans try to get on someone’s back. They pick on someone.
‘Unfortunately, recently they have tried to pick on me. But they have got the wrong guy because I am mentally strong in the head. I will not allow anyone to put me down.
‘I always give my best. Even if it’s for one minute or two minutes I’m on the pitch and no more, I always try to help my team out.’
There were jeers in an away game against Hearts. Partick Thistle fans did not spare him during a recent game at Parkhead, either. Derision has become a way of life.
And yet, defensive blunders at Celtic are hardly exclusive to one man.
A collective inability to defend corners contributed to the club’s Champions League demise. Manager Ronny Deila has dropped zonal marking at set-pieces as a response and now wants his players to go man to man. Ambrose, for one, seems happier with this.
‘I think a change of shape has really helped us,’ he said. ‘We try to improve on the tactics that we use. We try to go man to man instead of waiting for someone in the zone. We try to change a bit. That has helped us a bit at set-plays.
‘The gaffer decided in training that is what he wants us to do now. Everyone is aware of what they have to do at the set-plays. We have been working on it on the training pitch, of keeping an awareness of your opponent, of your man, and making sure he doesn’t pass you on the pitch.’
A test of the new system will come at Tannadice tonight. Celtic face Dundee United with the chance to open up a six-point lead on second-placed Aberdeen. Dedryck Boyata is fit again and that usually means Ambrose starting on the bench.
In truth, there is not a great deal between the two. Boyata has also been error-prone and unconvincing, yet Ambrose suffers because his mistakes are rarely small.
With Deila’s help, he is working on repairing his reputation for poor concentration and casual defending, but can do nothing to change the past and big mistakes in European games against Juventus and Fenerbahce.
When he ‘has an Efe’ Celtic supporters rarely suffer in silence. Nor do fans of other teams allow him to forget. ‘I try not to listen,’ he insisted. ‘I try just to concentrate on the game. If anything it makes me more determined. It’s just a question of focus.
‘The passion I have for the game makes me stronger and it will make me better even if people do this. I can point to the medals I have in the last four years. I have a lot.’
Deila knows the limitations of Ambrose and tolerates them because he is an exemplary and selfless professional. A good man to have in a dressing room; if not always on a pitch.
‘I am very impressed at the way Efe is so professional,’ said Deila. ‘He deals with the criticism very well.
‘When he came on against Hearts and got into trouble in the beginning, he then played with calmness.
‘His offensive play has been developed, he doesn’t do so many undisciplined actions as he did before and that’s what he has to develop, to stay concentrated for 90 minutes.
‘That’s his biggest challenge and he is doing it well.’
Ambrose credits Deila with helping him to concentrate better.
‘I think that is an area I need to work on,’ the 27-year-old conceded. ‘Concentrating on the 90 minutes is not that easy, but I am working on that because it is about the team.
‘For anybody in my position, anybody playing in defence, the most important thing is to concentrate for the 90 minutes, to be aware of what is going on. He has really helped me to do better.
‘I am working hard on that every day and I think I am getting better. It is not just one game, it is continuous.
‘The manager has been good for me. He has really helped me to cut out the lapses in concentration from my game.
‘When I make a mistake, he will call me into his office and make sure I realise it and I will work on it on the training pitch. He really helped me after the Fenerbahce game.
‘For me, it is important to get better and the way I do that is by working hard on the training pitch and bringing that to the game. Right now, I am more focused and more determined than ever.’