I won’t end love affair, says Kayal
Coveted midfielder pledges he will stay at Celtic to repay club’s total support after ‘the hardest spell of my life’
BERAM KAYAL has claimed that support from the club during an agonising eight months on the sidelines will sway him into staying at Celtic and snubbing overtures from Premier League newcomers Southampton. The south coast side are keen on the Israeli midfielder and their interest could emerge as one of the transfer issues facing Celtic as the end of the window looms.
Question marks hover over his in-demand midfield colleagues Victor Wanyama and Ki Sung Yueng, who have also been tracked by English top-flight clubs hoping to tempt the Scottish champions to cash in.
However, Kayal spoke out ahead of the Champions League play-off tie against Sweden’s Helsingborgs to insist it was his intention to stay at Parkhead.
The 24-year-old had been the subject of interest from down south last year, chiefly from Bolton, before he penned an extended contract until 2015.
The fresh wave of courting, this time from Nigel Adkins’ promoted Southampton, has created further uncertainty regarding Kayal’s Celtic future.
Both his seasons in Glasgow have been hampered by injury, the most serious being the ankle ligament problem suffered in the Old Firm victory at Parkhead last December.
There followed what Kayal describes as the toughest spell of his career, one where he discovered how much he felt wanted by Neil Lennon and company in Glasgow.
‘I feel that I want to be here now,’ said Kayal. ‘The club has, for the last six months, given me everything in support — especially the gaffer. When I come back I will try to do the best I can.
‘I want to help the club. I don’t think to go or to leave the club and I don’t think about rumours about the next club.
‘I just focus here. I want to be 100 per cent fit and enjoying the games. The last six months have been the hardest in my life.
‘I woke up in the mornings and couldn’t do all the things I liked to do. I had to do physio instead of training with the team.
‘Now I wake up and say thanks to God for giving me health and fitness to be training with the team.
‘I want to stay because I enjoy it here and I want to give something to the club, especially when they have given me a hand — the manager and the other players.’
Kayal is one of the few in Lennon’s youthful squad boasting Champions League experience. That came in 2009/10 when Maccabi Haifa negotiated a tense qualifier against Red Bull Salzburg to reach the group phase.
There, they met a Bayern Munich side with Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger primed to win a tournament.
Maccabi failed to score or pick up a point from the searching section but Kayal only enthuses about the experience as he offered his team-mates a teaser of what to expect if the next fortnight goes according to plan.
‘I have been there before and it’s great — one of the best feelings in the world as a footballer,’ he reported.
‘We had a young team that played against Red Bull, who paid a lot of money to try to get there.
‘So when we got to the group and I heard the song for the Champions League, it was a great feeling.
‘I was 21 and went in to play against Bayern Munich, Juventus and Bordeaux. It really is a level up for everyone.
‘Bayern went to the Final to play Inter and Bordeaux got to the quarter-finals, so that was a group with two teams going to the top.’
Celtic know the feeling. Atletico Madrid swaggered to Europa League glory last season after emerging from a classy group featuring Udinese, Rennes and the Parkhead club.
European rookies no more, Kayal believes the core of the team assembled by Lennon in the summer of 2010 is ready to carry the club into its first Champions League campaign since 2008.
‘It’s been a big wait for Celtic, the club, the fans and us the players to play in the Champions League,’ he said. ‘I think it’s a special thing for everyone here.
‘I hope we can get there this year and we have a good chance. A couple of years ago, everyone came in HELSINGBORGS defender Christoffer Andersson has admitted that Celtic’s win in Finland has prompted a rethink for his side ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League play-off clash.
The SPL champions travel to Sweden this week looking to set themselves up for a winnable second-leg task at Parkhead as they chase a group stage spot.
After conceding a home goal to HJK Helsinki, there were fears for Neil Lennon’s young and the manager built this team.
‘We’ve had the years together, so we have the confidence and more experience having played in the Europa League. That has helped us to be ready. The Champions League is now the big thing for us.
‘If we win the Helsingborgs games, it is important for us as players because of how it is going to help us in the future.
‘If you play in the Champions League, every manager, every team, men in the return, given their historical aversion to travelling in Europe.
But the Scots responded to comfortably progress and set up a meeting with Henrik Larsson’s former club.
‘We plan to give ourselves something to work with in Scotland for the second leg by taking the initiative in the home match,’ said Andersson.
‘We scored nine goals in two everyone in Europe and also the world is watching the game. It can help take you to the next level.’
Kayal played the last 15 minutes of the match in Helsinki as Celtic prevailed 2-0 to set up the Helsingborgs clash.
Red-carded Wanyama’s suspension means that his enforcer-style midfield talents will be needed in Sweden on Tuesday night.
‘Victor is a good player, an important player for us who does his job so well,’ Kayal conceded. ‘But everyone needs to do the job together.
‘We need to go to Helsingborg and fight and give 100 per cent — a performance like in Helsinki. We need to defend as a team and I think we have the squad to do that job.’ qualifying rounds and were comfortable with the idea of taking the game to Celtic and travelling with a lead.
‘However, that was based on their lack of confidence in away matches stretching over a number of years, but there was no suggestion of that in Finland.
‘We had the Helsinki match watched and we will be briefed on what to expect on Tuesday. It may be different to our first impression.’
Domestically, Age Hareide’s side have work to do if they are to repeat last season’s title win, sitting just off IF Elfsborg in the Swedish First Division table.
However, Andersson believes Helsingborgs are now hitting form at the right time to face Celtic.
‘We couldn’t find the consistency of last season but our form is improving again,’ said the 33-year-old.
‘Tuesday’s match will be very tactical. It’s a game I am really looking forward to.’