Berget plans to show Deila was wrong to let him go
WHEN Jo I nge Berget arrived in Glasgow in the summer of last ye a r, he harboured hopes of carving out a reputation for himself with the Scottish champions. He did that and then some.
Unfortunately for the 24-yearold, his name simply became synonymous with the troubled early days of Ronny Deila’s tenure as Celtic manager — as opposed to giving the Parkhead f ans something to shout about.
In j ust six appearances for the team, starting in July, Berget cut a deeply unimpressive figure. Not even the player himself disputes it.
If the beginning of a forgettable career chapter — a 4-1 loss to Legia Warsaw — was painful in the extreme, then the end of it came as an utter embarrassment.
In failing to even make it as far as the half-time whistle in a draw against Dundee at Dens Park in l ate August, the Norwegian midfielder quickly reached the point of no return.
After f our months of inactivity, the loan signing was quietly smuggled back to parent club Cardiff where the cancellation of his contract facilitated a three-year deal at Malmo.
Celtic and Deila’s desire to consign the episode to history was cut short when Berget’s new club were pulled out of the hat for the Champions League Play-Off, with the first leg taking place in Glasgow on Wednesday.
Berget appreciates he did little in his short time there to strike fear into Deila’s vastly improved side but, come midweek, he is determined to show that his fellow countryman made an error of judgment in bringing such a premature end to his time at Parkhead.
‘I came in before the Legia Warsaw match and those games weren’t exactly good, not for me nor the rest of the team. The Maribor game wasn’t the best either,’ he recalled.
‘I got a good start at home in the league against Dundee United with a couple of goals. But after that, both myself and the team went through a spell of where we weren’t very good.
‘Ronny Deila then made some changes, things worked out better and the team started winning. Everyone knows you don’t change a winning team. So that was really the end for me. I didn’t get to play much after that.
‘I kind of knew (Dundee was the end) because things weren’t good before that game — and when you get taken off before half-time, it’s obviously not good. After that, I didn’t get a chance.
‘Ronny told me things weren’t going the way he had hoped for me or the team and he had to make some changes. To be fair, those changes worked.
‘There are no hard feelings, although I thought I deserved another chance.’
Come midweek, Berget intends making Celtic fans appreciate that the player they watched so briefly was a pale imitation of the real thing.
‘The Celtic supporters probably remember me as a guy who played only five or six games for them and didn’t do much,’ he said.
‘I’d like to prove myself to the Celtic fans, but it’s more important to prove myself to the Malmo supporters.
‘It gives you a bit extra when you have a point to prove. I got a new chance here and I have done pretty well.’
A regular f i xture i n Age Hareide’s side, Berget has also found himself cast as super spy since the draw paired the Swedes with Celtic.
‘I’ve been telling my team-mates a bit about Celtic,’ he added. ‘I know about the players and I’ve told them about the crowd and the atmosphere at Parkhead.
‘Virgil van Dijk is a defender with everything.
‘Stefan Johansen has got better and better. He has been pushed further up the field and that has suited him.
‘Celtic belong among the top clubs in Europe because of their supporters. Our fans are fantastic at Malmo, but Celtic have three times more.
‘The fans of Celtic and Glasgow as a city deserve to have a team playing in the Champions League — but not this year!’