The Celtic dressing room may be reminiscent of a United Nations conference given the multitude of worldwide languages within earshot. The challenge for the Parkhead side over the coming weeks is to unite those dialects into a single, solid voice.
The arrivals this summer of Croatian defender Jozo Simunovic and Belgian defender Dedryck Boyata have been added to a back four made up of a Honduran left-back and a Swedish right-back. Getting the communication right is high on the list of priorities for John Collins and Ronny Deila as the Parkhead side attempt to plot a successful course through a domestic and European campaign.
The porous nature of Celtic’s defence – 14 goals shipped in the last 8 games – has been the main source of concern. Set-pieces and crossballs have been an achilles heel although Collins is confident that the acquisition of Croatian defender Jozo Simunovic, who made his debut in Amsterdam, can be part of an offered solution to the problem.
The Croatian under-21 captain will create a defensive partnership with Dedryck Boyata and establishing a decent understanding between the two is of paramount importance for Collins and Deila.
“Dedryck’s a communicator and Jozo has just come in and it will take him a few weeks to get the real communication into his game,” said Collins. “That’s vital for defenders as they have the whole game in front of them – they have to be talking to defenders and midfielders.
“That’s important and that will get better as the weeks go by.”
“They have to get to know each other, their strengths and weaknesses, communication. But I was pleased with the way we defended against Ajax.
“When new players come in, you don’t just press a button and it all happens overnight. The best players in the world can take time. Some clubs spend £50m….Thierry Henry for six months he never scored a goal at Arsenal and everyone was writing him off. It takes time. You have to be patient with these players. I thought Simunovic had an excellent debut. Very good.”
Collins’ point was emphasised by the fact that Simunovic required a translator to help him out as he spoke to the press in the aftermath of his first game for the Glasgow club. Assured and calm, the Croatian believes that within a few weeks there will be no language barrier among the players.
“We speak in English,” he said. “I know what we call each other and it is no problem on the pitch. He calls back and I don’t need to tell him, he can see everything. It is not easy. I am thinking just game by game and we will see. I will need some time.
“It was maybe difficult at the start but I wanted to come here to this club. To come here I had to leave Zagreb, that is normal. There is a problem with the language but I will learn and it will be ok. I wanted to test myself. I don’t put pressure on myself. It is normal in football player’s life to do this. I wanted this chance.
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