Bodo/Glimt have signed off from their Spanish training camp with a 3-2 win over Swedish side Elfsborg, but were not 100% happy with their final training game before playing Celtic.
The Norwegians arrive in Glasgow next week to play their first competitive match of 2022 at Celtic Park.
They’ve been spending time in Spain as part of their pre-season preparations, playing friendlies against Dynamo Kiev and AGF.
Elfsborg were the opponents today and while Bodo/Glimt won 3-2, players and coaching staff weren’t particularly pleased with the performance.
Defender Alfons Sampsted described the display as “sloppy” to the official club website, suggesting his team lacked the right attitude in the match.
Manager Kjetil Knutsen said, meanwhile: “We started the match well and had complete control, and go to the break with a deserved lead. The second half I think gets messy.
“When we have structure, we look good, and why we lose the structure we have to look at more.
“That can not happen when we come out at Celtic Park next Thursday. It will be a completely different match and a completely different environment. Now we will work well in the coming week and prepare for the team we have watched a lot. We are looking forward to two games against a big club.”
Of course, pre-season is a time for clubs to figure out their weaknesses. Better to make mistakes now than when the action really starts.
Norwegian teams are always going to give a blunt, honest assessment of their performances too. These comments are hardly a sign of a crisis.
Yet, it seems they are very much still a work in progress after selling a number of key players in the off-season. Celtic truly do have a good opportunity to catch them cold.
As you can imagine though, they’ll have done their homework. With little to think of for two months other than this fixture, they’ll know every little detail about the Bhoys. It’s up to us to surprise them.
In other news, There’s been another absurd overreaction as the usual suspects struggle with Celtic success.
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