Ambrose relies on faith values
God-fearing Nigerian has no time for talk of Hampden hoodoo, at least not on his watch, writes Phil Gordon
FORGET Hampden hoodoos. Efe Ambrose says there is nothing to be alarmed in terms of Celtic’s so- called j i nx at the Mount Florida Mecca. The defender puts his faith in God, not superstition, to sort out Celtic’s problem at the National Stadium.
Hopefully, prayer is more powerful than punctuality this time. The Nigerian’s no-show for Celtic last month in Turin at a speciallyarranged training session on the morning of the Champions League game with Juventus, brought Ambrose headlines he now admits “embarrassed” him. With Celtic facing another early morning wakeup call ahead of today’s Scottish Cup semi-final with Dundee United, you could hardly blame Neil Lennon if he told Ambrose this is the weekend the clocks go forward.
Ambrose has revealed the reason for his tardiness in Turin, even if the manager remains sceptical. He said: “I was using the Glasgow time on my mobile phone. It was one hour behind so I didn’t know the time had arrived. That made me late. I was awake, I was just waiting for the time to go and meet them on the bus. When I went down they told me the bus had left. I was not sharing a room as everybody had his own room. Maybe that would have helped. Victor Wanyama tried to get me, but when he knocked, I was taking a shower. I could not hear him.”
It was the second time Lennon had been let down by Ambrose. The player’s mistakes against Juventus in Glasgow in the first leg did not repay the manager who flew him back from Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations success in South Africa.
“I felt bad,” admits Ambrose. “It was the Champions League, a game I was really looking forward to playing and also to make up for what had happened at Celtic Park. I wanted to make us better. I didn’t want the same thing to happen again. I was late and embarrassed. I know it could happen to anybody. It’s just unfortunate it was me again.”
Lennon had a wry response on hearing Ambrose’s explanation on Friday. “It’s funny that he was not late for training the day before and it was the same time difference. It’s not a big issue. He was disciplined for it. He was not going to start the game anyway, as we were going to go with Wanyama and Kelvin Wilson. He was not dropped because he was late and I said that at the time.”
Ambrose is perfectly happy in the surroundings of his hotel room. The Nigerian goes there to pray and will do so this morning, before leaving for Hampden. That act, he says, provides far greater comfort than fulfilling any superstitions as Lennon’s side try to avoid a fourth successive defeat at the ground.
“No, I am not superstitious,” said Ambrose. “I only pray to my God. I say prayers and pray for God’s favour upon us. My faith is very important to me. Victor prays on his own, too.”
Nigeria’s bloody religious divide between Christians and Muslims does not spill over into the national team. “It’s not a problem,” said Ambrose. “Every time we have prayers we all come together as one, Christian and Muslim, to pray. In Nigeria it’s very important for everyone in the team to pray together.”
Lennon has suffered enough religious intolerance himself and recognises he has to embrace the differences in his cosmopolitan dressing room, which includes a born- again Christian in Emilio Izaguirre and an Arab-Israeli Muslim in Beram Kayal. “When we have Kayal and Izaguirre in the team, the game has kicked off and they are still saying their prayers,” smiles Lennon. “I find that interesting, but I don’t discourage it. I respect them as people first and foremost because they are really good boys.
“They are all individuals with different cultures and we respect that. If they want to go and pray, that’s fine. Just as long as they don’t try to impose that on others as everyone’s different and everyone has their own way to prepare.”
The manager’s f aith in his players is equally unwavering. Lennon’s side may have lost on their last three trips to Hampden – in this season’s Scottish League Cup semi-final to St Mirren and last season in the Scottish Cup semifinal to Hearts and League Cup final to Kilmarnock – but Lennon is convinced the tide will turn.
He has no fear of hoodoos and cites the arrival of Alex McLeish as Rangers manager halfway through 2001-02 as proof that the numbers, and fate, can swiftly change. “For the first four Old Firm games where Big Eck was in charge, he won two and lost two and people thought he had the Indian sign over Martin O‘Neill. Then Martin went on and won the next seven. So hoodoos are there to broken and if you want to call it a hoodoo, I hope we break ours.”