GAME of my LIFE

Ambrose hyped up for long-awaited Old Firm encounter

IT pains Efe Ambrose that he will not be heading to Equatorial Guinea to help Nigeria defend the title of African champions this month. On the bright side, the Celtic defender knows that the Super Eagles’ surprise failure to qualify for the Cup of Nations will allow him to take part in what he describes as the ‘game of a lifetime’.

Ambrose is in his third season as a Celtic player yet has not experienced the unique environment of the Old Firm derby and he jokes that even if he had been selected for international duty this month, he would have arranged a flight back just to be involved in the League Cup semi-final against Rangers.

Armed with the tales from experienced team-mates like Scott Brown and Charlie Mulgrew, not to mention the unique perspective of his close friend and former colleague Victor Wanyama, the 26-year-old has been preparing himself for an occasion like no other at Hampden on February 1.

‘I am told it is the best derby in the world and, if the manager chooses me, it will be a great pleasure to play in this game and wear the green and white against Rangers,’ said Ambrose eloquently.

‘It’s going to be terrific, a semi-final and a game that is one of a kind because, in my three years here, the club has not played a derby.

‘We are looking forward to it and we really want to give the Celtic fans what they deserve from this game.’

Ambrose was named in the team of the tournament when the Super Eagles lifted the trophy in South Africa two years ago but was less popular among Celtic fans after he flew straight home to participate in the first leg of a Champions League last-16 clash against Juventus — and promptly erred at two of the Italian side’s three goals.

Unbowed by that incident, Ambrose said he would have been eager to jump on another plane if that’s what it would take to earn a place in Ronny Deila’s team for the Glasgow derby next month.

‘Even if I was away, I would have wished to take a flight and come back to play in this match against Rangers,’ he stated. ‘It’s the game of a lifetime that everyone wants to play in and I wouldn’t want to miss it for anything.

‘Of course I’ll miss being at the Cup of Nations because I want to play in every tournament and every game but I have to forget about it and move on. I will watch at home and cheer as I see who is going to be the champions of Africa.’

Ambrose still revels in the memories of the Champions League night on which Celtic beat Barcelona in 2012 but expects the atmosphere at the Rangers game to be even livelier.

‘Everybody said it is more special than even the European games,’ he continued. ‘On this occasion, the crowd will be 50-50 too. It’s going to be brilliant. I have watched the game on television before but I want to see and experience it for myself.

‘My friend Victor Wanyama has told me about it and all the guys in the dressing room say they really miss the game — every time there has been a cup draw, the players have all wanted to get Rangers.

‘It has been so long that everybody cheered when the draw was made. It’s another chance for us to prove we are the best. To win the cup you have to be the best, so meeting them at this stage is good for us. It gives us the chance to go and win a trophy.’

Celtic are overwhelming favourites to win the semi-final, to an even greater degree than they were in going into the last Old Firm fixture, one that yielded a comfortable 3-0 victory in the wake of Rangers’ descent into administration.

That day, Rangers could still call on the services of internationalists like Allan McGregor and Steven Whittaker but those two plus several others departed in the wake of the Ibrox club’s liquidation.

A reboot in the lower leagues has left the playing squad significantly diminished and the team faces a fight to make it out of the Championship via the play-offs this season.

Although the quality of player available to caretaker boss Kenny McDowall may not be the same, Ambrose expects the crowd and sense of occasion to narrow the gap between the teams.

‘It doesn’t matter that Rangers are in a different league,’ said the defender, signed from Israeli club FC Ashdod in 2012. ‘I’ve played derbies in my home country and with the national team, and the most important thing in these games is the atmosphere.

‘Rangers may be in the second division but the atmosphere will take the game to another level. We will need to be at our best, at our highest level.

‘With the fans behind them, Rangers will bring everything to the pitch. It doesn’t matter that they are in the second division — they are Rangers and we must give them respect.’

Asked to single out his own favourite derby fixture date, Ambrose does not hesitate: ‘Nigeria versus Ghana. Those games are special. They call us brothers because everything — our culture and style of play is similar.

‘We understand each other and we are very similar on the pitch. Both teams always want to prove they are the best, so it is very intense.

‘This is different. I know that nobody says Rangers and Celtic are brothers.’

Ambrose was involved as Celtic eased themselves back into competitive action with a 2-0 victory at Hamilton yesterday, having lost ground to leaders Aberdeen during their stint at a training camp in Gran Canaria.

Although the champions now face a fixture backlog as they attempt to shoehorn postponed fixtures into a busy schedule, Ambrose believes the trip was worthwhile.

‘In Gran Canaria, we worked on improving everything before we came back to Scotland to defend our championship. The trip was all about preparing us for the second half of the season because we know we have important matches in the league, League Cup and the Europa League.’

Ambrose has featured regularly for Celtic this season but whether he will be a first choice when Deila has a full complement of defenders at his disposal remains to be seen.

The Nigerian has had extended runs filling in for Mikael Lustig and Adam Matthews at right-back and most recently, in place of Jason Denayer at centre-half.

Already this month he has been linked with English Premier League sides West Ham United and Crystal Palace but there is one huge incentive for him to stay beyond deadline day.

As recently as season 2010-11 familiarity threatened to breed extra contempt as the Old Firm faced each other seven times. For some, it seems not even a knockout European clash with Inter Milan can challenge the novelty status of the impending derby.

‘When I came here, I knew what it would mean to play in the derby. I was hoping for it from that moment and until now it wasn’t to be. I’m delighted to now have the chance and I will invite my friends but not my family. I have read about it and I don’t want my family to come.'

There is clearly no danger of Ambrose underestimating the intensity that awaits in his first Old Firm derdy.

It’s been so long since the derby match that everyone cheered when the cup draw was made