New Celtic defender Christopher Jullien has revealed being out and about in Glasgow helped him realise the magnitude of our derby clashes against Rangers, The Daily Record report.
Jullien was one of our big performers at Ibrox on Sunday, winning man of the match accolades and helping the Hoops keep a crucial clean sheet in a 2-0 victory.
Prior to signing for Celtic, it seems he was not quite aware what the match meant to us as supporters.
However, a few weeks in Glasgow has clued him up on the fixture.
As quoted by The Daily Record, the defender explained: “I got a feel for what the game meant when I was out in the city. In the week before the game a lot of people came to me when I was with my family and had a lot of talk about Sunday’s match.
“They kept talking about that match but I was saying ‘we have a European game (with AIK) before’. However, everyone was really focused on Sunday’s game and I understand it’s a big thing here.”
The making of Jullien
Before Sunday’s match, there had been a few concerns about Jullien’s start at Celtic. A couple of shaky performances and his absence against Cluj had led some to question his big price tag this summer.
However, it’s fair to say that the Ibrox display has been a turning point in fans’ perception of him. He’s suddenly emerged as a real favourite, who the support can’t wait to see in action again after the international break.
Not only did he win all his headers and most of his tackles during the derby clash, he showed real leadership and personality with his performance.
Clearly he’s taken the words of Glasgow’s citizens to heart and managed to use it as motivation in one of our biggest games of the season.
If he can maintain consistency at that kind of level over the coming months, he’ll become a real hero in the Hoops.
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