Cool Kristoffer Ajer finding a way to fit into Celtic format

Callum McGregor wheels away in delight after sealing the 2-0 victory over Kilmarnock. Picture: SNS.

The presence of five players under the age of 21 and four teenagers can be explained by Brendan Rodgers’ desire to rest a clutch of players before tomorrow night’s formality that is Celtic’s Champions League play-off return leg against Astana.

Celtic flew the near 3,000 miles to Kazakhstan yesterday. Following their 5-0 first-leg victory, Rodgers could easily have left half his squad at home. It feels like he could do that most weeks in the Premiership now, frankly. The slipstream that the Irishman talked about other teams being left in by Celtic’s impending banking of £30 million as their spoils for contesting club football’s pre-eminent competition is now about from here to Asia, where Celtic are presently stationed.

Even if Astana is a can’t-lose game, that Rodgers chose to omit senior players in a league encounter that has nominally more resting on it, indicates his focus and also faith in young players such as Anthony Ralston, Calvin Miller and Ajer – all of these defenders warranting his confidence. The ability of a mix-and-match team to knock off a routine win highlights, too, the anaemic nature of the challenge – Kilmarnock have scored only once in the course of a four-game losing run that has brought three home defeats.

In part, Lee McCulloch’s men are suffering precisely because Ajer is now getting game time for Celtic. The weekend marked his third start in a third different competition after the 19-year-old Norwegian played every week for the Rugby Park club across a six-month loan spell last season.

Ajer may not make too many more starts for Celtic this season. Nir Bitton, pictured above, is expected to be available for Astana despite the knock he picked up at the end of an encounter largely colourless save for  the artistry of Tom Rogic that engineered both goals. Moreover, over the next month both Dedryck Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko will return from long-term injuries that have allowed Ajer to demonstrate the potential that meant his move from homeland club Start last year generated much hype. Then, the gangly 6ft 5in teenager was a midfielder, who from that central role had become, at 16, the youngest captain in the Norwegian top flight. Now, he is a different player, with a different mindset.

“I am a central defender,” explained Ajer. “I’ve played there for one year now and I’m developing every single day in that position, in terms of where to position myself, winning headers and stuff, so I feel it is a really good position for me.

“The gaffer gives me the opportunities, he’s helping me every day in training, trying to develop my weaknesses as well. I feel that I am at a really good point in my career at this massive club. I just want to play as much as possible.”

If Rodgers can continue to rotate half his team without any glitches – as he will look to do across the Champions League campaign – it will be as sobering for the rest of Scottish football as Celtic’s ever-deepening pockets. Ajer sees no reason why that  cannot happen.

“The players here, we know our system really well. So here you can put in all the players in the squad and they already know their job, know how they should perform in our style of play, so it’s easy to come in and do well.”

All too easy, with smart finishes from James Forrest and Callum McGregor at the end of each half, it never looked like Celtic would get any reply from one of the three Premiership clubs yet to win a point after three games.

The “one brain” to which Rodgers has referred, which he said on Saturday effectively meant integrating young players into the set-up was like “cloning”, has Ajer convinced that Celtic can improve on the three draws they gained in last season’s Champions League campaign. “I think we can perform really well,” he added. “We are at a different stage now [from a year ago]. We know our system a lot better.”

Of course, this group stage improvement – or, rather, development – is predicated on getting the job done in Astana tomorrow. That, at least, is the party line expounded by all those at Celltic... even as they know fine well that the job was done in blitzing their visitors at Celtic Park last Wednesday. It would be human nature for them to lose their competitive edge, even subconsciously, were it not for one crucial aspect according to Ajer.

“That is not our attitude at all [to think the tie is over],” he said. “We have a winning mentality and we always want to go to the games and do our best [to show that]. We travel to Astana with the thought that it is nil-nil and hopefully get a really good result.

“When you play for Celtic you always go into games wanting  to win because that is the expectation playing for this  massive club. We travel there going for the win.”