Jozo Simunovic

Safe, fast enough, and knows when drastic measures need to be taken. He had to accept getting a card in the situation where the Huns were countering. Better that than a goal chance.

 

The big man's doing well hope he stays as there's teams sniffing about him I think good strong still a young guy and brenden will get best out him beside sviatchenko

 

Jozo the barbarian

 

A REFRESHED and recharged Jozo Simunovic reckons he can perform at an even higher level in the second half of the season as Celtic got their winter training camp in Dubai underway today.

The Croatian defender excelled for Brendan Rodgers’ side during the opening part of the campaign, having recovered from a long injury lay-off which had sidelined him for eight months.

And he was part of the side that put Rangers to the sword at Ibrox on Hogmanay as the Hoops clocked up their 15th successive league victory, stretching their lead at the top of the table to 19 points and maintaining their unbeaten domestic record going into the New Year.

After that, the players were given some days off to rest and recuperate following a gruelling fixture schedule, with the 22-year-old heading back to his homeland to see his family.

But now the centre half, who is relishing life with the Scottish champions, is raring to get back to work in earnest with his team-mates in Dubai as the Bhoys step up their preparations for the second half of the season.

Speaking exclusively to Celtic TV, he said: “I’m feeling fresh and very well after a good half of the season, and the rest of the boys are the same and we are all excited about the next part of the campaign.

“I had a nice time off. I spent some time with my family back home in Zagreb but it was good see the boys again today.

“We will have an easier training session today but tomorrow we will get down to more serious work and we are looking forward it.

“I have been back playing since the injury and the false transfer and that’s all behind me. I am just looking forward. I was very happy with the first half of the season and I believe I can do even better in the next part of the season.

“When I was injured it was a hard time for me but, as I said, it’s behind me. I worked very hard when I was injured so I could play and I started to play very well but you can always do better and I am just looking ahead. I am very happy.”

 

Someone has asked Hulk Hogan to re-tweet an image of Jozo, saying that it's his brother and that his wrestling nickname is the Provo.

 

@HulkHogan hi Hulkster, any chance of a birthday retweet for my older brother Jozo today? He is 22! His wrestling name is "The Provo

https://mobile.twitter.com/cfkc97/status/817550650548637698

 

Mon the big man

 

X-RAYS showed he had been playing with a fractured knee.

But Jozo Simunovic insists his Celtic injury * can be the making of him, not the breaking of him.

The Croatian defender, 22, was playing through the pain barrier at this time last year.

A mixture of adrenaline and medication was all that got him through matches.

It was only after scans showed the extent of the damage that Simunovic was properly diagnosed.

And the lasting legacy is that Brendan Rodgers is careful not to ask him to play too often.

But the centre-half insists he feels stronger by the game and insists there’s no reason why he can’t start every week.

Speaking from the Celtic team hotel in Dubai, Simunovic said: “Yes, I believe I can do that and I want that. I am young, I want to play every game.

“Sometimes the coaches decide ‘We need to give him a rest’ because it is not possible to play all season in every game, especially three games a week. That’s difficult for me.

“When I look back and see what I did, I understand why they do it.

“With my knee, everything is okay. I’m working just on my fitness now. I don’t have any problem if someone wants to ask me about my knee because it’s fine.

“It doesn’t matter what people ask. I know what I feel, and it feels fine. I want to believe in myself.

“It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. These are my knees, no one else’s.

“It’s difficult to convince people, but I know how I feel. I know people say my name and everyone says the same thing — ‘He had an operation, maybe the knee isn’t good’. But I know it’s good.”

Ronny Deila once questioned whether Simunovic was mentally tough enough to play through niggly injuries at Celtic, but it turned out the big defender was nursing a serious injury.

His knee was damaged and needed rest and time to heal, but the Croat tried to ignore his pain and played on for weeks.

He added: “The atmosphere and the fans, that got me through.

“We also had a situation with defenders missing. I played on and it wasn’t good.

“But the fans got me through games because it’s not the same when you are only training.

“The adrenaline makes a very big difference. I could also take tablets and anti-inflammatories for the pain.

“But I played on and we could see now it didn’t work. I can change nothing. That’s history and another learning experience.

“Thank * everything has been good in this part of the season. I am looking forward now. I am really happy, I am really enjoying it.

“It’s not been easy sometimes, but that is football life. Look, when you look back at that now it wasn’t good, but it’s behind me.

“I can only use it as a positive experience to learn in future.

“I use my time getting better. The bad times are all behind me now, I only look forward.

“I had a bad start at the club. But now I’m okay and I’m also playing nearly every game. That’s the most important thing.

“I don’t want to think too much about what happened before.”

Simunovic almost quit Celtic before Rodgers took charge, with a move to Torino last summer only falling through at the last minute when the Italian club got cold feet.

Asked how close the deal was to being agreed, he added: “What do you think? I was there, I did everything, and then at the last moment they said they wanted to change something.

“It was right at the very last moment. But the good thing is I stayed here at Celtic.

“I proved myself, I proved to everybody that’s the best thing for me in my career now.

“I always believe things happen for a reason. It was fate. That’s finished now. History.

“I am very positive about life at Celtic. I am happy here.

“I want to be a part of Celtic’s future. I really only want to look forward, not back.

“Torino is behind me and I don’t think about them now.

“Thank * everything has been good for me at Celtic in the last few months.

“I came back in good form and I still feel I can get better and better every day. I can be a better football player.”

Simunovic has formed a good understanding with Danish defender Erik Sviatchenko, with Kolo Toure now the spare man.

But the veteran defender has been a huge help to the Croat.

He added: “I was happy when Kolo signed for the club because I knew he had a great career in the English Premier League.

“You always want to learn. With him it’s much easier because you have a player with that kind of experience to learn from.

“In the first instance, it’s always a little hard when someone comes wanting to take your place. But I didn’t feel scared or anything. I was okay with it.

“I had players like Kolo at my last club and I learned from them. I am still learning from Kolo and he is a big, big player. I can only learn from a man with his experience.

“He is a very good guy and he communicates really well. All the time he wants to help and we discuss game situations.

“He wants to give us defenders the benefit of his experience and things are going well.”

 

Good interview. I knew Kolo would be a big influence

Interesting comments about his knee's though...

 

Did he mention his knee there?

 

That's a cracking interview that

 

I mean the interview for the press

"With my knee, everything is okay. I’m working just on my fitness now. I don’t have any problem if someone wants to ask me about my knee because it’s fine."

“It doesn’t matter what people ask. I know what I feel, and it feels fine. I want to believe in myself.

“It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. These are my knees, no one else’s.

“It’s difficult to convince people, but I know how I feel. I know people say my name and everyone says the same thing — ‘He had an operation, maybe the knee isn’t good’. But I know it’s good.”

 

What I noticed is ronny was basically ripping him for not playing through small Injurys when he's got a broken knee ffs. How he ended up our manager I'll never know.

 

When was that?

 

He was our manager 2014-15 & 2015-16 season. Was it that traumatic for you?

 

Mad to think this * is younger than me!

 

Haha no I love Ronny but you know what I meant. I'm asking where he got the idea that Ronny ripped Simunovic.

 

He came out and questioned his mentality to play through injuries. Turned out he'd be playing through a pretty * bad one that Ronny's medical staff missed.