Simunovic will strive whatever the surface
AFTER five months on the sidelines, Jozo Simunovic joked that he would have played on concrete in order to get his Celtic career up and running.
A succession of knee problems has made the defender notoriously averse to playing on artificial pitches but, after a lengthy chat with Neil Lennon, the Croatian made his first league appearance of the season at Kilmarnock in midweek.
Deployed on the right of a back three, the 25-year-old strolled through the match and, one suspects, overcame something of a psychological hurdle.
He said: ‘It was a good test, and everything was fine after the game.
‘I’ve been five months out, though, so to come back and play every third or fourth day, it’s still going to take some time for my fitness and getting the feel for the game.
‘I hadn’t played on plastic since a game against Hamilton in 2017, so psychologically it was a big thing for me.
‘But I’ve been out for months, so I was desperate to play. I would have played on concrete if I had to!
‘I had a good conversation with the manager before the game and told him I wanted to play. And obviously we played with a back three as well, which was good.
‘We are actually changing all the time, and I think it gives us more options. At some point, you never know if a player is going to be missing and you need to change shape, so you have to be ready to do that.’
Simunovic was back in a more traditional four alongside Christopher Jullien for yesterday’s 3-0 victory over Ross County.
The defender clearly enjoys a good rapport with Lennon, something lacking in his relationship with the club’s previous boss.
‘At the end with Brendan (Rodgers) it was a completely different story,’ he admitted. ‘But what can you do? I’m here, I’m Celtic’s player, not Brendan’s player.
‘So I just kept going and I was kind of expecting a time would come that Brendan would go — in the past he had offers.
‘I had to be patient, but now it’s a new page for me with a new manager.’
Perhaps playfully, Simunovic suggested that he is currently in the last year of his contract and has talks planned with the club regarding an extension.
As per the announcement made when he signed his last deal back in 2017, Lennon ventured that he will be sticking around for at least another season.
‘I thought he had a year beyond that, that we had an option,’ said the manager. ‘I’d like to keep him, I think he is a top player and he is pretty consistent when he plays.
‘His best years are ahead of him. He has a record of knee problems and that is unfortunate for him. But he manages it as best he can. He came through with flying colours at Kilmarnock.’