I’ve been Invincible and focus is the key

SAYS MIKAEL LUSTIG

MIKAEL LUSTIG knows exactly what it takes to wear the crown of an Invincible. While skill, fitness and form all aid the fight, the Swede argues it is the power of the mind that could drive Celtic over the line.

Seven years ago, Lustig was part of the Rosenborg side which captured the Norwegian title without losing a single match. Having endured a near-miss the previous season, the Trondheim club found a way to claim their place in history.

That prospect now beckons for Celtic. Starting at Ibrox on Saturday, five Premiership games have to be safely negotiated for Brendan Rodgers’ side to become the first of the modern era to complete an unblemished campaign in Scotland’s top division.

For Lustig and two Parkhead team-mates, it would also mean entry into future pub quizzes as players who had achieved the feat in different countries.

Kolo Toure was famously part of Arsenal’s legendary 2003-04 title-winning team, while Jozo Simunovic helped Dinamo Zagreb stay unbeaten in the Croatian league 11 years later.

Lustig reflects fondly on his own achievement on the other side of the North Sea. Yet the 30-year-old, now in his sixth season with Celtic, believes the demands of Scottish football makes his current quest far tougher.

‘At Rosenborg, we went through a season in the league without losing,’ reflected Lustig. ‘We went close the season before. We lost with three games to go.

‘But the season after that, we went the whole way and to go through two full seasons with just one loss was quite impressive.

‘You only play 30 games a season in the Norwegian league, but you still need to be focused to do it.

‘There can always be a ref decision or something which can change it, but our strength this season has been to go and go and go.

‘It doesn’t matter if we feel as though we are struggling a wee bit, we just go on.

‘Absolutely it’s about mentality. We have played a lot of games and have shown the ability to keep going.

‘It’s difficult to do it with our games. We’ve had 41 (domestic matches in all competitions) already, but we keep going.’

In 2010, Rosenborg won 19 of their Tippeligaen matches and drew the other 11. Under Rodgers, Celtic have been even more dominant.

Twenty-nine wins and four draws form their current league statistics. A further eight matches have been completed in knockout competition without faltering. The Scottish Cup Final against Aberdeen on May 27 brings the chance of a Treble.

Celtic set up that opportunity with a comfortable 2-0 semi-final win over Rangers last Sunday.

And, ahead of this weekend’s rematch, Lustig believes their dominance at Hampden dispelled any notion of the gap narrowing between the Old Firm rivals. ‘It was quite a normal game for us,’ said the right-back. ‘We know we are the better team and Rangers pretty much didn’t touch the ball once in the first half. We played really well and they couldn’t get close to us. ‘I don’t know who is talking about them getting closer to us. ‘But we have proved and shown to everyone through the whole season — and the gap in the league has just grown bigger and bigger every week.

‘Of course we won the first game of the season 5-1 and we didn’t get close to that scoreline on Sunday, but I think the performance on Sunday was more emphatic, especially the first half. Scoring the first goal early was perfect.

‘Ibrox on Saturday is another game, but we’re high on confidence and we will go there to do our thing. Hopefully, we are going to win that game as well.

‘This season is far from finished for us and there is plenty to play for.’

A hamstring injury will remove Moussa Dembele from the Ibrox equation, while captain Scott Brown will also be absent if he fails to win a red-card appeal tomorrow.

Brown is the only outfield player to have played more minutes than Lustig this season. Yet the 57-cap Swedish international is confident Celtic could cope without such an influential pair.

‘Players could be missing for us on Saturday, but I think it has been a strength all season that we have been able to change,’ argued Lustig.

‘Scott Sinclair has probably been our best player this season, yet he missed a few games in November and December and we still managed to play really well in Europe and also win the League Cup Final against Aberdeen without him.

‘We have a rhythm within the squad, which lets others go into the team and do exactly the same job as the player they replace.

‘Another strength is that we are doing things well every week. Playing the way we want to.

‘It’s another big game, but another big opportunity to do well.

‘Of course, we know that something big is sitting around the corner and that’s our aim.’

Lustig’s longevity at Parkhead gives him a broader perspective. While this season’s achievements could be unprecedented, he is reluctant to place Rodgers’ squad ahead of some of their forerunners.

‘It’s hard to say if this is the best team I have played in here,’ said Lustig. ‘The year we won the Double and reached the last 16 of the Champions League (2012-13), we had a really talented team, too.

‘The way we play now is probably the best, though.

‘We had good players back then as well, but the way we work together and the way we want to play is real good.

‘We have a young team and a couple of old lads hanging in there as well! The young players want to be better week on week.’