Gustaf Lagerbielke has admitted that a lack of 'close contact' with manager Brendan Rodgers has felt odd during his debut season at Celtic.

The defender, who the Northern Irishman signed last summer, has made just 10 appearances since his arrival from Elfsborg.

Back in his native Sweden, the 24-year-old insists he's used to feeling closer to the boss of the team. 

So, while it's not like that in Scotland, Lagerbielke insists it's all about 'pulling yourself together' and making sure you're ready for your chance it comes.

He told Aftonbladet:  “It’s not like in Sweden, you can’t have that close contact with the manager, so it’s just about pulling yourself together and taking the chance when you get it. You just have to focus on what you can control and try to develop.

“It can be tricky to keep motivated, but I feel in the best form I’ve ever been so I just want to show what I can do and how good I am. At the end of the day, there is only one person’s opinion that’s important, deciding if you play or not.”

The centre-back was set to move on loan to Italian side Lecce in January, but it collapsed at the last minute.

This was because Rodgers felt the squad was short on defensive options, with Cameron Carter-Vickers ruled out at the time.

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He reflected: “It’s been educational, it might sound like a cliché when you move abroad. Some real ups and downs. Some real highs, probably some of the highest peaks of my career, but also some lows with little playing time.

"So both good and bad from a football perspective, but off the pitch it’s been great, we really like it here.

“Away from football, we take advantage of living somewhere else, not many people get the opportunity to live in a different country. It rains quite a lot here in Scotland so we haven’t spent that much time outdoors but we’ve been to the Highlands and visited a couple of castles.”