JULES MADE TO LEARN THE HARD WAY
ZAK JULES will have drawn valuable lessons from his first meeting with Moussa Dembele. Not least about how the best strikers can force you into conceding a needless penalty. The 20-year-old centreback’s third appearance of a loan spell at Motherwell was unexpected. Just five minutes had elapsed at Celtic Park when he was summoned from the bench after Stephen McManus suffered a groin injury. Having moved north from Reading in the hope of gaining greater firstteam know-how, Jules was suddenly being sent into the toughest school in Scottish football. He was at fault when he bumped over Dembele to
concede a 34th-minute spotkick that the French striker ruthlessly converted. It could have been a demoralising blow for a player still relatively wet behind the ears. To his credit, however, Jules rapidly recovered composure as Motherwell conceded only one more goal. ‘I think it was a penalty,’ admitted the Scotland Under21 international. ‘Dembele has been very clever and used his experience. He has seen me pull my leg back when going to clear and just put his body in the way. ‘It was the right decision. It was harsh on me but something I will learn from.’ Although Jules played no part in the 7-2 thrashing Motherwell suffered at Pittodrie last midweek, he was still well aware that Motherwell could ill afford another rout. James Forrest doubled Celtic’s lead before the break but the visitors could take some heart from the way they remained defiant thereafter. ‘Overall, it was a good reaction from the 7-2 defeat from Aberdeen. It was another loss but I think we can take a lot from it going forward.’ he said. On a personal level, Jules insists he is embracing the demands of performing for a team within a congested part of the Premiership. ‘This loan spell is a learning curve, something for me to try and improve in every game I play,’ he added. ‘Football is all about pressure. If you can’t deal with pressure then you are never going to have a good career, you are never going to succeed.’