£5m Ajeti keen to kickstart career after nightmare of first season

ALBIAN AJETI has vowed to prove his worth to Celtic in the new season. The Swiss striker cost £5million from West Ham last summer but failed to impress as the Parkhead club’s ten-in-a-row dream crumbled. Ajeti netted five times in his early appearances, yet scored only once after September and made his last Premiership start in February. However, the 24-year-old is now eager to make a fresh start under Ange Postecoglou after scoring the first goal of the new era in a 3-1 friendly win over Sheffield Wednesday. Asked if he was still convinced he could be successful with Celtic, Ajeti said: ‘Absolutely. It was a difficult season. Not just for me, for everyone. But we have to take it like it is. ‘I’m looking forward now to getting everything back to normal and focusing myself on the new season. We will try to reach the goals as a club. ‘I’m very motivated. I’m working hard to try and get the best out of pre-season. My mind is fully focused on the new season. ‘First of all, we want to be back on top at the end of the season. That’s our main target as a club. ‘Personally, I want to help the team as much as I can to reach that goal. If we reach that, I think everyone will shine and everyone will be happy.’ Ajeti readily accepts that Celtic fans have yet to see his best form. ‘Yeah, obviously,’ he said. ‘That’s also a key thing. I hope we can get the fans back in the stadium as soon as possible. ‘That’s a big part for Celtic. I haven’t had that experience yet, but I know and hear what it is like to play at Celtic Park with the fans. I hope that happens as soon as possible.’

Speaking after Wednesday’s friendly, Postecoglou made it clear there would be clean slates for Ajeti and fellow £5m man Vasilis Barkas following last season’s woes. ‘The manager is very calm, but he is so confident,’ said Ajeti.

‘He is so convincing in everything he says and does, which gives us players a lot of confidence as well. ‘We are sticking together. We want to win. It doesn’t matter if it is Champions League, Europa League, a league, cup or friendly game, we want to win it. ‘I think we showed a reaction in the first friendly game when we went 1-0 down. These are things the manager put in our heads with the right words. ‘I’m very happy to be back together (with the squad) and to have got a win in the first pre-season game. ‘It was good to get 60 minutes in the legs. I couldn’t ask for a better start. ‘It’s great to see all the faces again. We have a good atmosphere in the dressing room and on the pitch. ‘We are training hard and we’re really enjoying it.’ Ajeti was made captain of the largely youthful side that faced Sheffield Wednesday. While that role is highly unlikely to be his on a permanent basis, he knows the squad will have to find a way to fill the void left by the departure of Scott Brown to Aberdeen. ‘Obviously, it’s hard to replace Scott as captain at a club like Celtic,’ said Ajeti. ‘I can’t lie. It was a great feeling to be captain on Wednesday. But the most important thing is to be on the pitch and help the team. ‘It was only a friendly game but I was still proud to be captain. ‘It’s almost impossible to find another Scott Brown. We are trying to get the best of it without Scott. We have some great leaders in the team, good characters and different types of characters. That’s needed in a club. ‘We need to stick together now and fully focus on the season ahead. I think that is the key way to be successful.’