GUSTAF LAGERBIELKE MISSING CELTIC 'CLOSE CONTACT' FROM BRENDAN RODGERS AS FORGOTTEN MAN FILLS TIME BUILDING LEGO

Frozen out Gustaf Lagerbielke says he has been unable to have "close contact" with Brendan Rodgers since his move to Celtic.

And amid a lack of minutes for the Scottish Premiership leaders, he revealed that he has turned to building LEGO to fill his time. The Swedish defender has failed to make his mark at Celtic Park since his arrival in Glasgow's east end, and was almost shipped out to Lecce in January on loan - before the plug was pulled on a deal following an injury to key defender Cameron Carter-Vickers.

But while he would have hoped for more minutes since the collapse of the Serie A switch, he has managed just one appearance since the winter window slammed shut - a four-minute cameo in the win over St Johnstone last month. He has not started a game for Celtic since the 1-0 victory over Rangers at Ibrox. During an extended interview with Swedish outlet Aftonbladet, he was put on the spot about his lack of game time since leaving Elfsborg.

He responded: “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 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.”

However, he has remained upbeat about his time in Scotland. During the chat alongside girlfriend Johanna Gerendas he opened up on what he has learned since moving to Glasgow - and noted that he has picked up a hobby alongside pal and fellow Parkhead fringe man Odin Thiago Holm.

He said “It’s been educational, it might sound like a cliche 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 the 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.”

Gerendas said: “One of the first things I could think about that we’ve done away from the football is building lego." Lagerbielke added: “I have to blame (Odin) Holm for that. At his house, he’s got a whole wall filled with lego! So we blame it on him, been a bit influenced.”

2024-04-25T14:32:50Z dg43tfdfdgfd