CARL STARFELT admits it has taken a bit of getting used to playing in a team managed by Ange Postecoglou, and adapting to the demands the Celtic manager puts even on his defenders.
The Swedish international, who has been called up by his country for their World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Greece and a friendly against Uzbekistan next week, feels he is slowly getting to grips with what his new coach wants from him.
And he says that the Celtic support will soon see the best of him as he settles into life both on and off the pitch in Glasgow.
“It’s a bit different to playing in many other teams,” Starfelt said. “I enjoy it a lot though.
“It demands a lot from you, but it’s also good for your development.
“If you can manage to play here then I think you will develop a lot, and it’s very fun football that we are playing.
“It’s fun for the players and the team, but also for the supporters to watch. I’m enjoying it.
“I’m very happy to be here. The club is very nice, it’s a very welcoming club, and a very big club. I enjoy it a lot, and I feel like I’m settling in more and more.
“It will of course take some time to fully settle into a new team, but I feel like I’m getting better in every game.
“I’m enjoying life outside of football as well, so that’s perfect.”
Starfelt says that Celtic have travelled to The Netherlands in confidence for the second leg of their Europa League qualifying tie against AZ Alkmaar, and he believes they will be able to show that they can be just as strong defensively as they have been offensively of late.
“It’s going to be a big test,” he said. “Alkmaar showed when they came to Celtic Park that they are a very good team.
“It won’t be any easier when we play in Holland, so we need to be ready for that.
“Of course, we have to be solid defensively in every game, but we are confident in our playing style and we just need to keep going with it and not change too much.
“We need to try to do the stuff we are already doing, but do it a little bit better.
“We have good confidence in the team right now, we’ve had some good results and we feel that we’ve found a good rhythm.
“The style that Ange wants to play is working right now, so we’re feeling more and more confident in the playing system.
“Of course, we are very excited to go into a big week and a very exciting game [tonight]. It’s going to be a tough one, so we’ll need to bring our best to get through.
“It always gives you confidence when you are getting good results, but it’s not only that, we’ve also played very well in many games.
“It feels like we have a lot of players in very good shape, so that gives us confidence to keep going and keep doing what we are doing. Only better.”
Meanwhile, Starfelt has revealed that the Celtic players have all rallied around striker Kyogo Furuhashi this week after he was the subject of racist abuse at the hands of a group of Rangers supporters.
“I’ve only got good things to say about Kyogo,” he said. “First of all, he’s a very good player, but he’s also a very nice guy.
“He fits into our playing style very well, and also to our squad, so he’s been doing very well.
“Of course, we have shown him our support this week, that’s all we can do.”
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