Alan Stubbs says Celtic’s Christopher Jullien needs to toughen up and wise up

Former Parkhead centre-half thinks clubs will now target the Frenchman after his unconvincing display in Killie draw

Christopher Jullien trudges off the pitch at Rugby Park following Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS

Having watched Christopher Jullien bullied into the concession of the penalty kick which saw Celtic drop their first two points of the season at Rugby Park on Sunday, Alan Stubbs agrees with the widespread view that the 6ft 5ins central defender needs to toughen up.

But Stubbs believes the big Frenchman also has to wise up in order to avoid too many repeats of the kind of performance which saw him outmuscled and occasionally even outplayed by Kilmarnock’s journeyman striker Nicke Kabamba.

Former Celtic favourite Stubbs, part of the defence which stopped Rangers winning ten-in-a-row back in 1997-98, has warned that managers throughout the Premiership will now be targeting Jullien’s apparent vulnerability whenever they face the Scottish champions this season.

Alan Stubbs was speaking at the launch of Premier Sports’ live and exclusive coverage of the Betfred Cup and Celtic’s first three European qualifiers. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS

He also feels, however, that Jullien can become a key figure in a successful Celtic bid for a record-breaking tenth consecutive league title if he learns to play to his strengths.

“There is an element of him having
to toughen up,” said Stubbs. “But if you look at different centre-backs throughout football, the same could probably be said about someone like John Stones at Manchester City, for example. He’s really elegant and good on the ball, as comfortable as any 
in the Premier League. But he’s the same as Jullien in that he probably doesn’t like the physical side to it. He doesn’t look comfortable when it gets like that.

“I just think ‘Don’t accept that, do something about it – be clever about it’. And I just don’t think Jullien was clever enough about it on Sunday. He didn’t go about it in the right way. He probably let it affect him too much and got into situations he didn’t 
need to. That physicality was clearly troubling him.

“He was in too many situations where he wasn’t the favourite to win the ball. There is no point trying to have a strength contest with someone you know is stronger than you. The outcome is that you’re going to lose.

“You might win a couple but 
ultimately you’re going to lose. If he played the game again, I’m sure he’d play it differently. He is a clever enough player when it comes to reading the game and when he has time, he looks a classy centre-back.

“But to be a better defender, he has to work on the other side. There are a lot of teams who are now going to look at Sunday’s game and try and do exactly the same against him.

“It’s what managers do. They look at how certain teams play against Celtic and Rangers and if they’ve got a result they’ll try and do exactly the same. They might not have the same type of players but they’ll still do similar types of things.

“So he has to overcome that side of it. Let’s be honest, he did on occasion last year. He’s not been that way inclined all the time. But there have been times when it’s happened to him. So he needs to deal with that this season and deal with it quickly.”

Following the summer departure of Jozo Simunovic, Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer are Celtic’s only recognised central defenders – a situation Stubbs feels manager Neil Lennon will want to address.

“Having only two is more of a problem for the manager,” he added. “As a player, you look at it and say ‘I’m going to be playing week in, week out’. That should give you confidence as a 
player. But as a manager you want to keep those two on their toes. You need to get someone who you think can keep them on their toes but isn’t necessarily coming in knowing they are third-choice centre-back.

“Because Jullien and Ajer set such high standards last season, whenever they dip below them it becomes quite evident. Sunday was one of those days.

“They went on an incredible run after Christmas where they churned out results week in, week out. Then, suddenly, when Jullien’s had a tough afternoon it becomes evident because we’ve not had to speak too much about him making those types of mistakes.

“When you do that for Celtic or Rangers, you are there to be shot at. You need the mental strength to deal with it when you come in for a bit of flak. This is all added into the mix of this season. When Rangers don’t play well, it will be about how those players respond to the negativity – not just from the media, but from their fans.

“It’s what you have to deal with when you are going for something so big. It’s what we had to deal with at Celtic back in 97-98.

“One minute you are out of a title race, the next minute you are back in it. One minute it’s all over, the fans think it is gone – then you’re back in it again. It’s going to be a roller coaster season in terms of emotions and ups and downs.”

While Rangers have edged two points ahead of Celtic after just two rounds of fixtures, Stubbs insists he’ll only regard them as title contenders if they are still in touch in mid-April next year.

“They have to be there four weeks from the end of the season,” he said. “Because Celtic are not going to fall off a cliff this season. They’ve proved that over the last nine years.

“They know what it takes to get over the line. Rangers haven’t proved they have what it takes to get over the line.

“Steven Gerrard has got to one final in his two seasons and they lost that. They’ve not really got close to Celtic
in terms of the end product when you look at the gaps there have been. We’re not talking a game or two – it’s five, six or seven games difference.

“So in order for Rangers to be close to Celtic, they have to be in with a shout coming into the last month of the season.”

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