Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer’s message to fellow Norwegian team-mate Mohamed Elyounoussi is clear – if you get tackled then shut up.
The Norwegian team-mates have been reunited at Celtic Park together after having been international colleagues in the past. And, coming from the Premier League as a multi-million-pound star, you can expect him to get plenty of the rough treatment in Scotland.
So far, he’s dealt with it brilliantly. Elyounoussi has surprisingly proved to be an aggressive terrier of his own. He’s been an aerial threat, and hasn’t been afraid to get stuck into the battles presented to him in Scottish football.
Perhaps he’s been heeding Ajer’s warning about Scottish football. Speaking to Norwegian outlet TV2, this is what the big centre-back has told his team-mate.
“I’ve been trying to tell Mo that this is a physically tough league. He got some scrapes as soon as he came up here. That’s how it’s like to play up here.
“You get tackled and you shut up, but you have to get used to it here. Celtic is a tough club, with traditions of winning everything they participate in here at home. There is a little bit of pressure, you can’t put up a Saturday here without winning.
“It’s a little different from other clubs, where you might lose one weekend and win the next, so that’s fine. Here you are always a couple of games away from disaster.”
Ajer’s message looks to have gone through
Elyounoussi doesn’t look like the kind of player who is frightened of a challenge. Against Livingston when were down to 10 men, he drove forward down the left at Nicky Devlin to try and cause problems. He consistently headed straight for the Livi backline. Getting hurt wasn’t on his mind.
It wasn’t the result we were after, but it was good commitment from the on-loan Southampton star. Elyounoussi has the attributes to make his loan spell here a highly-successful one – you can tell how much he wants it too.
In fairness, Elyounoussi hasn’t really suffered a nasty challenge since coming up. Considering some of the centre-backs and full-backs currently in the Premiership, however, he can expect some nasty collisions in future weeks.
It’s also quite humorous to hear this message from big Ajer. We love him for his commitment, but you can’t help but feel there’s a hint of irony here. After all, you’ll do well not to find the big man in the ref’s ear after every decision.
He shows tremendous passion for the Celtic cause, but he’s always looking to have a go at decisions he doesn’t think is right. He’s quite right to do so, and we wouldn’t want him to be any different. However, it’s not like Ajer to be fouled and to keep quiet about it!
Hopefully, with regards to Elyounoussi, the nasty bite Scottish football tends to have doesn’t negatively effect him. If early signs are anything to go by, however, we don’t even have to worry about it.
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