Boli predicts sunny spells on continent
INVITED to offer his observations on life so far in Glasgow away from the field of play, Boli Bolingoli stages mock disgust at his discovery that the Scottish summer ends so early and abruptly.
A wet August became the least of his problems, however, when he was criticised for treading water in initial outings for Celtic.
Charged with filling the void of fans’ favourite Kieran Tierney, taking a faltering first few steps into the land of snap judgments didn’t do the 24-year-old any favours.
Efforts to adapt were plagued by distribution issues, betraying signs of anxiety which further unsettled an expectant Celtic crowd.
By the time both he and Christopher Jullien were benched for the Champions League home leg against Cluj, with Callum McGregor in his place, the murmurs were that Neil Lennon was just as nervous.
Bolingoli did not require his excellent command of the language in his new surroundings to be well aware that his new audience were, at best, sceptical of his arrival.
Fresh from a period of reflection on his whirlwind first couple of months in Scotland, the £3million signing is relaxed that he has emerged the other side of that sticky start.
He went on to help Celtic stroll past AIK and, crucially for his confidence, was part of a strong defensive display at Ibrox as the 100-per-cent league start stretched into the international break.
‘Other people outside were talking about Christopher and me,’ acknowledged Bolingoli. ‘We both knew, the whole team knew about our quality and were confident and believed in ourselves.
‘If we did not have quality we would not be in this club. It may be just that it was a question of time for us. We needed to adapt.
‘But we were ready for that big game at Ibrox — and we showed that people were wrong.
‘If you play with a team that has a lot of confidence, you will see the talent within the team come through. You saw that at Ibrox.
‘For me, that was not my first experience at Ibrox. But with Ibrox, with Celtic, it was a really nice experience.
‘We played a mentally strong game, we were together as a team and did a good job.
‘It was a great day. Now it is over. We need to look forward and focus on the next games. We want to show in every game that we are Celtic and show our strengths.’
The fear, even when Celtic had started motoring through the first few nights of European qualifying, was that Bolingoli might turn out a weakness.
Lennon undertook was he described as ‘a little sitdown’ with the Belgian after he ‘wasn’t great’ in the 5-0 Parkhead thrashing of Estonian visitors Nomme Kalju.
Bolingoli was taken off before half-time but explained to his manager that he had felt nauseous on the night.
‘Let’s just say that, in the beginning, it was not easy to adapt,’ he admits. ‘But we stayed strong and it’s getting better and better.
‘My confidence is coming and I am enjoying being on the pitch even more. We are doing well at the moment and hopefully we continue to do that over the season.
‘Off the pitch, everything is great. The guys are lovely — the whole squad. I love to come to training and see them. It’s been nice.
‘I am really enjoying life off the pitch and Glasgow, apart from the weather. In Vienna, there is a summer. Here, every season is the same.
‘Sometimes you have four seasons in one day. I do not understand it. But I need to stop complaining because everyone knows how I feel!’
The forecast is bright throughout the winter, according to Bolingoli’s belief that a long and successful Europa League campaign lies ahead.
First up for Celtic is Thursday’s trip to north west France where Julien Stephan’s French Cup winners Rennes provide the opening-night Group E opposition.
‘You want to put expectation on the players now,’ said Lennon. ‘Come on, see if we can get out of the group and where it can take us. It’s a quality section but it’s not insurmountable at all.
‘Can we get some gravitas back in Europe now? That’s the incentive. That’s what we want out of it.
‘This team have the makings of a very good side domestically — and we can make an impact in Europe this year too.
‘But this opening game is going to be tough. Rennes are a good, technical side, they beat PSG on penalties to win their cup so we’ll have to be at our best to get something out of it.
‘They are playing with a back three, which is interesting, and have been playing that since making a good start to the season. We’re looking forward to this; it’s very exciting.
‘And we have French players going back to their homeland. so they might well be important for us.
‘They know the style and I think Jullien will be looking forward to it, (Olivier) Ntcham, Odsonne (Edouard) has already made an impact in France by scoring goals for the Under-21s.’