Kris Commons: Celtic players want to be as fit as Ronaldo

Kris Commons is a hungry footballer in more ways than one.

The Celtic playmaker has seen his weight drop as a result of the Ronny Deila revolution.

All the Parkhead players have had to get used to the Norwegian manager, who at times seems obsessed by dietary matters.

Deila famously banned his men from eating chips and regularly talks about the need to limit the intake of carbohydrates.

There was some suspicion that Commons delayed signing a new contract with Celtic because he didn’t fancy the new, strict regime. That, he maintains, was never the case.

He may never have a physique to compare with Ronaldo, but taking part in occasions like today’s League Cup Final was something he was never going to walk away from.

The 31-year-old believes he can become a better player under Deila, even if he’s eating slightly less.

He said: “I never thought it might be easier for my career to go somewhere else. I’m not looking for an easy way out.

“I wasn’t looking just to plod away through these next two or three years. I have a lot of goals for myself to win more trophies, more cups.

“I want to win a Treble and play in the Champions League over these next couple of years.

“It’s not a case of signing a deal where I think: ‘Oh, that’s great. I can get my feet up’.

“He will put pressure on me to keep improving, so I’ve got to show signs of doing that.

“That’s one of my goals. I want to get better as a player as I get older.”

There’s no getting away from the fact that Commons can sometimes look a bit chunky on the football field.

He is actually lighter than he was at the start of the season, but says it’s not all about weight.

“I’m three or four kilos down from the start of the season,” he revealed.

“We are all aiming to continue to lose, not weight but body fat.

“We see the likes of Ronaldo, who is this supreme athlete. He’s the pinnacle. He is the quickest, he can jump highest, he can score most goals.

“He is the example, and he has got probably no body fat. That is the target.

“That is not just for myself, or Anthony Stokes or James Forrest who have also been out injured.

“Even Craig Gordon has had words about it, as have Nir Bitton and Charlie Mulgrew.”

For all he scored one of the goals that knocked Rangers out of this season’s semi-final, the League Cup hasn’t been a successful competition for Commons.

In the 2011 Final he was substituted as Celtic lost to Rangers in extra time.

The following year he only came on for four minutes as his side were beaten by Kilmarnock.

But he’s confident of overcoming a hamstring injury to face Dundee United at Hampden today.

He said: “It’s been a Cup I have not won in Scotland so it’s a big deal.

“I fully understand what the manager requires from me. It’s just up to me to put as much pressure on him to keep me in, no matter what style of football we play.

“If I am involved in setting up goals and scoring goals, it’s very hard to keep a person who’s doing that out the team.”