ANYTHING Stefan Johansen is asked to do at Celtic he tends to do well.
It will surely not be long before the Norwegian is handed an apron and asked to help out with serving lunch at the club's Lennoxtown training ground. He would probably do so eagerly and make a decent job of it, too.
Celtic have produced a number of likely candidates for the forthcoming player of the year awards and Johansen heads the queue. He has been one of Scottish football's most impressive figures this campaign but also one of the most improved. His first half-season following a £2m move from Stromsgodset in January last year hinted at his potential but only this season have Celtic seen what he is truly capable of. A team with Johansen in it is invariably better than one without him.
The midfielder would have had reasons to welcome the arrival of Ronny Deila as manager last summer but also fret about it. Sure, it would be nice to work again alongside his former boss, to hear another Norwegian voice about the place. He would have been aware, however, that there would be inevitable accusations of favouritism, of him being the teacher's pet. If anything, it meant he had to raise his game even further to show he merited his place. He has not stinted in either application or effort.
He has been versatile, too. Johansen has been utilised both as a deep-lying midfielder and a number 10 figure higher up the pitch. A return of 12 goals quantifies just how effective he has been in that latter role. Then on Wednesday night came a new challenge, with Johansen handed the captain's armband in place of the suspended Scott Brown. The responsibility clearly did not inhibit him as he scored in a 2-0 victory over Partick Thistle before revealing, perhaps surprisingly for a foreigner relatively new to the club, just how much that had meant to him.
"It's the first time I've had the armband and it was a big honour for me and a big responsibility to take it when Broony was suspended," he said. "I'm proud to have that for the first time. I was the vice-captain at Stromsgodset but at a club like Celtic it's a big honour. It's important that you are a leader whether you have the armband or not. There are lots of potential captains in our team.
"That's also an important thing we need to remember. Normally it's Broony who is the captain but I think we all need to be leaders out there, and keep talking. I think guys like Virgil [van Dijk], Nir [Bitton] and Jason [Denayer], everyone, they keep talking. Everybody needs to be a leader. It's important that we talk to each other. With the atmosphere, especially at Celtic Park, it is difficult but we just need to try to talk. It's small details but I think the whole team is good at that."
The only moment he felt fazed came before the game as the team went into their traditional pre-match huddle in which the captain is expected to impart with some last-minute advice.
"Yeah I was under pressure then! No, it was okay. We talk about what we're going to do in the locker room so it's just a last few words, but it was okay, even though I struggle with my English!"
Brown will be available again for tomorrow's match away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Johansen fully expects the armband to go back to its rightful owner. "I think [he will go straight back in]. He is very important to the team. I enjoy playing with him."
On the subject of potential personal acclaim, Johansen was more demure. A former player of the year in Norway, the 24 year-old is happy to have his name mentioned in similar circles this time around, but would place team glory over any personal triumph.
"I am enjoying my football at the moment," he added. "Obviously we keep on winning and things are looking very good for us. We already have one trophy and we want to get two more. Now it's at the end of the season and the games are coming quickly. We just need to prepare for every game now, it's a like a cup final in every game we play now.
"[When you are being talked about for player of the year] then you know you have done a good season, of course. But if I am honest the most important thing for me is if we can go out there and win the treble - that will mean the most to me. I would rather have that."
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