Kristoffer Ajer doesn’t necessarily seem to believe Neil Lennon’s view that Celtic need to be grinding their way to results.
Lennon believed that the players deserved some slack after their win over Kilmarnock. Despite recognising the fact that Celtic didn’t play great football, Lennon said that the Hoops are always going to have some anxiety at this stage of the season.
Celtic were once again sluggish in their performance level against Kilmarnock. That’s been the regular way of it under Lennon too, as the club has struggled to put together positive performances in the final stages of the campaign.
But Ajer doesn’t agree that the players have to necessarily grind their way to the end of the season. Speaking in the Herald, the Norwegian stated that it isn’t difficult to keep up performance levels.
“We were a bit all over the place in the first half. The gaffer had a great talk at half-time and I think our second half was a lot better. It was about getting the team more compact and a little bit more energy in our offensive play. I think it really worked out well.
“I don’t think it’s difficult at all (to perform to a high level at this stage of the season). You play for so much at the end of the season. That’s why you play the whole season – to be in the position we are now.
“You just have to keep focused. We need to look to perform well against Aberdeen and in our last few games of the season. Hopefully, we can stay focused and get the results we want.”
Results matter now – performances are secondary
It’s now at the stage where results are the main priority for Celtic. Performances, at the end of the day, likely won’t improve between now and the end of the season.
Before the campaign ends, Celtic face trips to Pittodrie and Ibrox, as well as a home clash with Hearts. It all sets up nicely for our Scottish Cup final date with the Jambos on May 25th.
But Ajer’s comments are interesting. After all, he’s one of the few who has consistently put in top-notch displays on a constant basis under Lennon. He certainly hasn’t been grinding his way through games, and instead has been absolutely strolling it in the Premiership.
The same can’t be said for most. Regular features in our team such as James Forrest, Tom Rogic, Odsonne Edouard, and Scott Sinclair haven’t really been consistent under the new man. The creative influences at Celtic haven’t matched the performances of the back-line.
It’s two totally different jobs on the pitch when it comes to attack vs defence. Even so, Ajer doesn’t feel performing to a consistently high level on a regular basis is a problem. Something Lennon believes has been an issue.
Regardless, as mentioned previously, results are the most important thing. Performances can be looked at over the close-season before we rebuild the squad and look to take the new campaign by storm. For now, it could be the case that Lennon is right, and we simply grind our way through the final few games.
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