Sviatchenko determined to fight for his place in Celtic team

Erik Sviatchenko has expressed his desire to win back his spot as first choice centre half at Celtic after falling out of favour last season, according to a report in The Herald.

The Danish international has been working on his game to match the demands from Brendan Rodgers and is hopeful that his improvements will grant him a starting spot in the team for the coming season.

He has fallen down the pecking order behind Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata but is still committed to improving his game for the Hoops.

Speaking from Celtic’s training camp in Austria, Sviatchenko said:

You always accept the manager’s decision and his opinions as to who he wants to play. Competition makes you even more alert. I perhaps needed to be even better at things. I have spoken with the manager about what I need to do to improve and that is what I am trying to do now.

From where I was before to where I am now is miles apart, I am much more confident with the ball now, which I have always wanted to be. My job description has changed from being a distributor to a creator. I have to see the passes forward, not just sideways. I have been working very hard on that and I am seeing the benefits.

That is one of the things he [Rodgers] wants. I have seen my stats from before the manager was here and maybe 74 percent of my passes forward were successful. Now I have maybe 95 percent. I have the ball a lot during a game so that is a lot.

The 25-year-old went on to comment about interest that was shown in him from other clubs last season:

I was aware of things, but it didn’t take the focus away from what I was doing, playing football. I am in a place where I have good players and coaches around me. They know me and I am trying to be the best player I can be so I am enjoying the time here.

Sviatchenko is settled at Celtic; he is aware that he must continue to improve his game to impress the manager and beat his competitors to a starting place.

Brendan Rodgers has developed a competitive squad, and this can only boost their chances of achieving greater successes this season.