Efe could walk into any club side in Scotland
SAYS NEIL LENNON
AGAME of Countdown. One of the contestants is Gordon Ramsay. The other, Malcolm Tucker. An intelligent pair, both set to score well over 100. But neither of them can produce a four-letter word which Efe Ambrose hasn’t been on the receiving end of.
Since arriving in Scotland in 2012, his name has generally been stalked by adjectives of the most unfortunate kind. Some are unprintable. The nicer ones are along the lines of ‘calamitous’ and ‘disastrous’.
When you hear all of the criticism, it’s easy to forget just how good a player the Nigerian is. After all, he has 51 caps for his country, has won four league titles with Celtic, along with one Scottish Cup and one League Cup.
Plainly, his CV would ritually embarrass the vast majority of players up and down the country. A centre-half with strength, agility and the speed of a hiccup, Ambrose can often look imperious in between the blunders.
It’s no different from any other sport. Look at Justin Rose at the Masters: flawless for 72 holes, then inexplicably makes a hash of it on the 73rd. Playing in the position he does, it is inevitable that Ambrose’s mistakes become similarly high-profile.
As Celtic fans will testify, his errors generally result in a) a coronary, and b) a goal to the opposition. When it became clear that Ambrose did not feature in Brendan Rodgers’ plans, there would have been a queue outside Celtic Park to drive him to the airport.
But Neil Lennon, who signed Ambrose during his time as Celtic manager, skipped ahead of everyone and took him on loan to Hibernian back in February.
Now, Ambrose has been voted Ladbrokes Championship Player of the Month for March. Hibs can also clinch the title and promotion to the Premiership tomorrow, if they can beat Queen of the South at Easter Road and Falkirk drop points at home against St Mirren.
Clearly, the move has worked out well for all concerned and Lennon yesterday paid a glowing tribute to the 28-year-old, who saw a January move to Blackburn collapse at the eleventh hour.
‘I think he is probably one of the best players Hibs have seen here for quite a considerable time,’ said Lennon. ‘I think the fans appreciate the quality of player he is.
‘He has been through the wringer. Sometimes, players at some clubs can be made a scapegoat and Efe certainly came under that bracket, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad player.
‘It’s no disgrace not to get into that Celtic team at the moment. They are setting the bar so high. He has come in to Hibs and done exactly what I thought he would do.’
Praise means nothing without context. It would be difficult to find a Hibs fan who would genuinely subscribe to the theory that Ambrose is in the same bracket as Franck Sauzee — Le God himself — but Lennon remains a huge admirer of his ability.
‘Efe would walk into any other team in Scotland — any other team,’ he insisted. ‘The negativity is something he’s had to deal with, but every day is a blessing for him.
‘I have known him for over five years now and, in that time, I genuinely don’t ever remember him missing a single day’s training — not one.
‘He has never lacked confidence in his own ability. Not in an arrogant way, but just in terms of how he enjoys proving people wrong. He’s proved them wrong and wrong again.
‘Whether his future is at Celtic or not, I don’t know. But his performances for us since he arrived have certainly put him in the window for people to take him.
‘The Hibs fans recognise how good a player he is and I think they have really warmed to him and appreciate what he has done since he has been here.’
Ambrose was a rarely-seen figure under Rodgers. He started in the infamous 1-0 defeat to Lincoln Red Imps, and did likewise in the 1-1 draw in Astana in the Champions League qualifiers.
That was his lot. Failing to make a single league appearance as Celtic romped to the league title, he might have been entitled to a sense of grievance against Rodgers. But nothing could be further from the truth.
‘Even when I wasn’t playing, Brendan didn’t ignore me,’ said Ambrose. ‘He is a great man — a father and a friend to everyone.
‘He wants to build an atmosphere. It is not about individuals. You need to come together as a squad and fight for each other. That is the big strength.’
Ambrose made his debut for Hibs in a 2-0 defeat to St Mirren back on March 1. Predictably, all manner of jokes soon followed.
But they have gone unbeaten in the seven games since that night in Paisley, with the affable Nigerian becoming a key figure in the heart of defence.
‘The players and the fans at Hibs have made me so welcome, I want to thank them so much,’ he added. ‘This award is not for me — but for all of them.
‘I never take anything for granted. I only have passion for this game — I love this game.
‘Winning the title is the most important thing because we want to do it for the fans.
‘They have really stood by this team over the past two or three years. Last year was a great piece of history for them, winning the Scottish Cup.
‘Getting back to the top league is what comes first in our mind right now. We want to give it to the fans and to everyone who has put so much into the club over the past few years.
‘The only way we can give back to them is to win this Championship and get them back to the league they deserve to be in.
‘I have been in this situation many times with Celtic and so has the gaffer. It’s not easy winning games because every team wants to beat Hibs.
‘Everyone has big motivation to take the title away from us. So we need to stay determined to clinch it because we want to give the fans a big party.’