The EYES HAVE IT

Jullien insists one look deep into the soul of his hurting Celtic team-mates in the wake of their Old Firm defeat dispelled any doubts over their state of mind for the title battle that lies ahead

ADERBY defeat in the final fixture of 2019 might have led some Celtic players to wallow in three weeks of self-pity. Doubt might also have reasonably crept in on the back of a sub-par performance that allowed Rangers to whittle a potential eight-point Premiership lead down to two.

Yet after stewing over the Old Firm disappointment during the winter break, Christopher Jullien stared into the whites of his teammates’ eyes and witnessed one over-riding emotion. Anger.

After a hectic December schedule that saw Celtic play nine times across three competitions in the calendar month, the shutdown was a mental and physical necessity.

The squad reconvened at a training camp under the Middle Eastern sun in Dubai before last night’s 2-1 Scottish Cup win at Partick Thistle launched the team back into competitive action.

The league campaign — and the quest for a ninth successive title — restarts at Kilmarnock on Wednesday night. With so much at stake and the wounds of last month still raw, Jullien is adamant the team will use their enduring pain to fuel their title bid.

He said: ‘Personally, I have no doubts. And, looking around the locker room, I see the same.

‘After the Rangers game, we had

time to clear our heads, do our own stuff, but when we looked into each other’s eyes we knew it was just a bad step.

‘I look in my team-mates eyes and see that we are angry. We are hungry and we want to show that it was just a bad step.

‘If we trust in ourselves, it’s going to be good. We know the strength that we have had since the start of the season. We are still top of the league, we had a great campaign in the Europa League and that is going to go on. We won the League Cup, too. That’s not nothing, you know.

‘We did some good things and we’re going to keep the faith in ourselves. We are going to keep working hard and it’s going to be good.’

A man who wears his heart on his sleeve, Jullien reacted emotionally to Celtic’s only other Premiership defeat of the season at Livingston.

Yet if some were disconcerted by his confession that he had been ‘nervous’ as he went up against Lyndon Dykes at Almondvale, the Franchman’s performances thereafter blew the questions marks away.

Signed for £7million from Toulouse last summer, Jullien did not buckle after the disappointment but grew stronger. A pillar in the 11 consecutive league wins chalked up after that reverse in West Lothian, he also found time to net winning goals against Lazio in the Europa League and Rangers in the Betfred Cup final.

He is convinced a similar response is in the post after losing on derby day.

‘I know it’s going to be the same answer because I see everything that we are putting on the field in training,’ said Jullien.

‘I think it was good for everyone to have that break. It went fast but I was able to enjoy some time out of football with family and friends.

‘The game on the 29th came at the end of a long month. We lost it but we had the chance to clear our heads, think about things other than football and then come back and work hard to give everything on the field.

‘There was a big reaction but that is what happens

when you are champions. When you want to win everything, crush everything and compete, that’s how it is.

‘It shows that Celtic is a really big club. The expectation is really high and we understand that. Our job now is to bounce back.

‘It was a mistake but we need to go again and find that same momentum that we had for a long time.

‘It’s important we hit the ground running again. Sometimes you will have some bad days and the important thing is just to get back up and show our strength in our heads and physically, too.’

Rugby Park will pose its own challenges. If Lennon’s team struggled on plastic last time out, they will scarcely find Killie’s surface easier to play on.

And, with Alex Dyer restoring some of the nous that characterised the Ayrshire club’s performances under Steve Clarke, the champions could have asked for a gentler reintroduction to the title race.

‘We remember the game against Livingston,’ said Jullien. ‘Sometimes, the artificial pitch can make the ball run slow, sometimes fast. It depends if it has rained.

‘The team knows that it’s like that at Kilmarnock. Personally, I need to adapt to it and do my job.

‘Livingston played a good game for sure and we didn’t. It was not easy at the time.

‘It was just not a good day for us. I can say today that the bad step at Livingston helped us for the next game and the one after that.

‘It probably made us stronger. I’m not going to refuse a defeat — it’s always something you can learn from.’

One Celtic player who shouldn’t struggle with the surface is Kris Ajer, who spent five months on loan at Killie during the 2016-17 season, his first after switching to Scotland from Norway.

Now a regular in the Celtic team and a full international, Ajer is still only 21 and has been linked with Borussia Dortmund and a reunion with former boss Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City.

A burgeoning reputation provides scant insulation from the flak that flies in the wake of a Glasgow derby, though.

Outjumped by Nikola Katic for Rangers’ winner at Parkhead, the 6ft 6in tall Ajer has taken some brickbats but Jullien reckons the criticism is disproportionate.

‘I think that’s a little bit hard on him for sure,’ argued Jullien. ‘He missed one aerial fight. Just one. People start to talk about that

I see that we are angry. We are hungry to show it was just a bad step There was a big reaction but that is normal when you want to compete and crush everything

but this is how it is at Celtic, the expectation, it’s normal.

‘I know that he is going to bounce back, show everyone his quality. He can do everything — he is really fast, he is good with the ball.

‘He is really young and he still has a really bright future. If some people doubt him, he is just going to show them that he is a really good player.

‘He is not an international player for nothing.’

Short of full fitness when he joined Celtic as they prepared for the Champions League qualifiers, Jullien admits Ajer played the senior role as he settled in.

‘He is one of the players who makes me feel really good on the field,’ he added. ‘Even though he is younger than me, he speaks really well on the field and that’s what I needed when I arrived.

‘He has shown he is a really important player for the club — on the field his age has no importance.

‘I’m just happy to have him on my side. If some people doubt him, I have no doubt he will show he is a really good player.’

Kris missed one aerial fight. Just one. He will bounce back, show people his quality. He has a really bright future