Marian Shved hopes debut Celtic goal in Tallinn is sign of things to come

Marian Shved ahead of kick-off in Tallinn

The Ukranian winger was signed last season but immediately farmed back out to his former club Karpaty Lviv.

However, he has made an impression on manager Neil Lennon since checking back into Parkhead this summer and marked his first appearance for the club with a goal as he came off the bench to seal a 7-0 aggregate hammering of Estonian champions Nomme Kalju. Now the 22-year-old wants more as he aims to make himself a regular feature in Lennon’s line-up.

Shved, pictured inset, speaking after Celtic’s 2-0 win in Tallinn on Tuesday night, told the club’s website: “I got my first goal for Celtic and I’m very happy. The team played a good game, we played very well. I was also happy to score, having missed my first chance at goal just after coming on.

“But the most important thing is that we played very well – against Kalju in Estonia and at Celtic Park last week. It’s a good day, a good game and we can be happy.

“As soon as I connected with the ball I knew I was going to score. It’s a very important goal for me, both in my Celtic career and my career as a whole.

“I was delighted when it hit the net, I think you could see that from my celebration and I love the Celtic fans.

“The manager was pleased with us all after the game and we were pleased with a good win in Estonia and 7-0 on aggregate over both legs.

“Neil Lennon is a very good coach and he’s very good to me as well. No matter the opponent, I hope my first competitive goal for Celtic is the first of many more.”

Lennon admits he has had to tread carefully with the former Sevilla wideman but revealed he has high hopes for Shved.

“Marian has had a nagging injury that has curtailed his progress a little bit, so he’s just been a bit of a slow burner,” Lennon said. “We were anxious to get him some game time and you could see what the goal meant to him from a personal point of view.

“You have to remember how young he is and it will take him some time to settle into a new culture. That goal is a great start to his Celtic career.”

Shved wasn’t the only one to make an impression in Estonia. French defender Christopher Jullien felt he slotted in well on his Celtic debut and was delighted to get some game time under his belt.

Jullien, a £7 million summer recruit from Toulouse, had to watch from the sidelines as Celtic eased through their first three European matches. But, having built up his fitness, Jullien finally got his chance against Nomme Kalju and fitted in seamlessly as the team kept another clean sheet.

“It was great. It was my first match and I hope there will be a lot more,” he said. “I was feeling good. And with a win there’s nothing more to  wish for.

“Getting 90 minutes was important. Since I arrived I’ve trained a lot. I’ve tried to be more comfortable with the guys – playing centre-back you have to have a lot of responsibility with the team but I felt comfortable.”

Jullien could have marked his debut with a goal but headed a free-kick narrowly over the bar in the second half.

“I was disappointed,” he told Celtic TV. “Every time we have a free-kick or a corner my goal is to score and help the team.

“I had chances but I was  just a bit late. But I’m working every day to jump higher and be there.”

Jullien is suspended for Saturday’s Premiership opener against St Johnstone so his next outing is likely to be in Romania against Cluj, in the third qualifying round, next week.

“We know that they’re a team who have been in the Champions League a lot, I think it’s going to be a level higher, but I think we are ready,” he said.

“We have finished our  ‘pre-season’ now, we start the season on Saturday and I’m sure we have the quality in the team to do something big.”