YOU’LL NEVER CATWALK ALONE
Erik’s looking sharp for new season
Trendy Erik Sviatchenko helped create a Lisbon Lions inspired jacket and he insists playing for Celtic will never go out of fashion.
The Parkhead defender and his artist dad Sergei designed a 400 quid a whip limited edition piece to mark the 50th anniversary of the club’s greatest achievement.
It’s just another example of the great Dane throwing himself in to life at Celtic and he insists he’s no intention of packing up his gear and heading elsewhere.
Sviatchenko was linked with a January move to Leicester City and despite struggling for a place in the starting line up in the second half of the season he reckons he’ll be modelling the Hoops kit for some time to come.
The Denmark international said: “The jacket was a homage to the Lisbon Lions.
“We had this opportunity with Close Up and Private to make a collaboration with Harris Tweed, which we then formed into a unique piece of the jacket that my father and I designed.
“Lisbon Lion John Clark, who was helping us with the photoshoot, said in some way you are actually wrapping history around your back because in the lining inside my father’s collage shows the Lisbon Lions.
“It has been an ongoing project for maybe one year so it was nice to see it finally finished.
“It is a collector’s item and it will be a limited edition, maybe just 500 items. It’s a shout out to people who want to buy it, it’s really nice.
“Projects like this are nice to wrap yourself around and this is just the beginning of collaborations.
“Celtic is such a big brand so for us as a smal ler brand it’s nice to be associated with that.”
Sv i a t chen ko insisted he’s stil l wrapped up in Celtic and is determined to stay and fight for his place in the Hoops first team, after battling back from injury late last season.
And he insists he’s not looking at an exit despite interest from down south.
He said: “That’s not in my thoughts at all at the moment. I’m just focusing on getting my fitness back and having my thoughts on pre-season with Celtic.
“I have developed really well over the last couple of months. It has almost been one and a half years since I joined Celtic. From where I was before to where I am now is miles apart. I’m looking at the small steps.
“It’s not always about whether I’m playing or not because that was one of the terms when I left Denmark that I would not always be playing.
“Those things are helping me recover mentally and making me a better human.
“I was of course aware of things during the transfer window. You are aware of everything
around you but it doesn’t mean you are taking the focus away from what you are really doing and that’s playing football. “If you are performing there will always be interest. “In the transfer windows there will always be talk and rumours, some of them are true and some of them are untrue but you need to stay focused. I’m in a place where I have good players and managers around me, they know me and I’m the best player I can be so I’m enjoying the time here.” England is tempting for most but Sviatchenko is in no hurry. He said: “No, I want to be the best I can and I can be that here. Why rush? You need to do things thorough, you need to do them 100 per cent. That takes time. “There can be ups and downs in your career but they make you an even better player. “The one- and- a-half years here have been a really successful period for me even though maybe I wasn’t f iguring that much in the starting line-up last year. “But that doesn’t mean things change because we need those three or four players because we play a lot of games and there will be injuries.” Sviatchenko is looking to play his part having helped Celts achieve the unthinkable with their invincible treble last term. He said: “I’m part of history. It’s something I am really proud of and I played a key role as well because I played over 40 games. “It’s something I wi l l always remember and look upon when I am an old man and say to my son I played these games. “I was a member of an invincible squad so yeah we will try to do it again even though it’s going to be difficult.”
There will be ups and downs in your career but they make you even better