Jeremie Frimpong has claimed that the Celtic Park atmosphere on European nights has blown him away.
The right-back unfortunately can’t feature for Celtic in the Europa League group stages as he wasn’t given a spot in the squad. His emergence came well into the groups. If Neil Lennon could change his mind now, he likely would.
But for now, Frimpong is having to watch on from the sidelines as his teammates look to get the job done against Lazio tomorrow night. So far, Celtic have picked up seven points out of nine, with their home form imperative to that run.
And as he spoke about the noise at Parkhead, Frimpong said in the Scottish Sun that he can’t wait to experience it for himself as a player.
“I’m desperate for the boys to qualify for the knockout stages, so I can experience Celtic Park on a European night as a player. It would mean everything to play on a European night at Parkhead. Playing in Europe was one of my dreams, so it would be really good.
“I had heard all about the atmosphere at Celtic Park and it’s lived up to my expectations. It’s been amazing. When it goes dark and then the lights turn green and I saw it for the first time I was like, ‘Oh wow!’.
“Then when the players come out of the huddle everyone is shouting and it’s so noisy. It’s so good.”
Frimpong is suddenly banging on the door
All of a sudden, Frimpong appears to be Celtic’s second-choice right-back for now. Despite the fact that was the same reason we signed Moritz Bauer for, it appears Frimpong has leapfrogged him.
His progress and performances have been difficult to ignore too. It’s not just routine Parkhead games he’s getting these days. He’s now been entrusted by Neil Lennon to get the job done at Pittodrie and a Hampden semi-final.
There’s no getting away from it, he’s no longer a development player. He’s a full member of the first-team squad, and will likely play many more games this season than he could’ve dreamed of upon arriving.
Hatem Abd Elhamed continues to be our main man for the Euro nights, and it’s important to remember how impressive he’s been so far too. When it comes to derby matches and many of our tougher away games, surely the Israeli will get the vote.
But regardless, Lenny is clearly a huge fan of Frimpong. It appears that the profile of game he’s trusted with has improved greatly over the last couple of weeks. And it’s not an overreaction to say he came through them with ease.
Should Celtic qualify for the last-32, we’ll have a chance to register Frimpong back in our squad. As it stands, you can’t imagine Lennon doing anything else.
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