Celtic defender Erik Sviatchenko hopes to bury memories of nightmare debut

Erik Sviatchenko makes his debut for Celtic (SNS Group)

ERIK SVIATCHENKO will head back to Hampden this afternoon, bullish there is little chance of repeating of his nightmare debut in a Celtic shirt.

The Danish defender was dramatically drafted in by the Hoops for last season’s League Cup semi-final clash with Ross County.

Then, on a day which saw the hapless Efe Ambrose red-carded, he was helpless to prevent his new team-mates crashing to a 3-1 defeat.

“It was a bit embarrassing, especially with it being my first game,” said the Celt.

“I knew then the expectation levels are huge. So it was a massive disappointment.

“But it’s like night and day between then and our current situation. We are less vulnerable now.

“What happened back then has faded from memory because since then there have been so many great things.

“It’s just so much different now.”

It is a change he puts down to the influence of manager Brendan Rodgers.

“The gaffer combined everything, brought everyone together and people now want to do the best for each other. The positivity in the squad shines from everyone – that has been a big change,” said Sviatchenko.

“We know our shape, fitness-wise, is so good, that we can bomb on for 90 minutes and sometimes the opponent will maybe tire after 70-75 minutes.

“It is not just how we play, either. Socially, people are really helping each other off the pitch, they are getting close to one another and that is a really important thing the manager did when he came in.”

For the supporters, though, it is the performances on the pitch which matter and Celtic’s run of 688 minutes without conceding a goal in domestic action tells of a defence doing its job with ruthless efficiency.

“That’s the stat and the stat is always nice to have,” said the Celt.

“It’s having the confidence going into a game knowing that you are so difficult to beat because you are so difficult to score goals against.

“As a defender your goal is always to get a clean sheet.”

The Dane admits, though, that might be a tough ask against an Aberdeen team with strong claims to be their strongest opposition in Scotland.

“I think they’ve continued their work from last season,” he said.

“At Celtic Park we had a game where we dominated throughout and won quite easily. But, again, at Pittodrie it was a different game.

“I remember I said they were bullying us, but we bullied them back. That showed while we can be nice with the ball, when we have to fight, we fight.

“Aberdeen provide tough competition, though, and I think it will be a good final.”