It seems that everyone in Scottish football wants a piece of Jens Berthel Askou currently.
The Motherwell boss has taken the country by storm with the results he has achieved with an attractive style of football, earning links to the Celtic job.
Askou takes his players to Celtic Park today for the first time since October, when Brendan Rodgers’ side won a dramatic encounter 3-2.
Despite being a defeat, that game proved to be formative for Askou’s side, particularly due to his approach after an error from his goalkeeper led to Celtic’s equaliser.
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Jens Berthel Askou’s response to Benjamin Nygren Celtic equaliser
As accounted by the Daily Mail, Askou replayed the moment – which saw Callum Ward pass the ball directly to Benjamin Nygren in the Motherwell box – just once in the Monday debrief.
Instead of breaking down that moment, the Fir Park boss went straight to a dozen other moments when the players’ bravery on the ball had worked.
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This is the approach which has seen the Danish coach transform a team which had the second-lowest average possession in last season’s Scottish Premiership to the best footballing team in the league.
The next time they faced the Hoops in December, Motherwell played Wilfried Nancy’s team off the park in a comprehensive victory.
Coming to Celtic Park in the business end of the season, they are likely to face a different prospect. Today is a must-win for both teams.
But they will not change their approach, which left the Parkhead crowd audibly disgruntled in the first-half of that meeting in October.
It isn’t just Askou earning links to the Hoops this season – Tawanda Maswanhise was widely linked in January, and has since continued his excellent goalscoring form.
More recently, Elijah Just has also been linked with Celtic. Neither is likely to be short of suitors this summer.
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Stephen O’Donnell on Jens Berthel Askou approach vs Celtic
Speaking about that game at Celtic Park, and Ward’s error in particular, Motherwell defender Stephen O’Donnell put it brilliantly, saying: “The goalkeeping pass from Calum [Ward], it’s as if, ‘He’s hopeless, he shouldn’t be playing.
“It’s like a narrative that then gets spun from individuals.
“The gaffer’s calm, ‘I ask him to play like that.’ That’s the things that get you belief and get the players buying into you because you don’t try and throw us under the bus when things don’t go well.
“We’re confident, we’re not over-confident. I’m not any more confident in my ability as a footballer. I’m not any quicker, I’m not any better on the ball, but I’ve got a belief that the manager has given us and I think we’re capable of delivering that.
“He believes we are all part of the club. He doesn’t really look at individuals so much, it’s about what we can bring for the team.
“That’s part of why you buy into what he sells, because he believes in it, he’s passionate about it, and he gives you the information to go and try and deliver it.
“We’re delighted the wins have come and put us in the position we are.”
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