SNS GroupMichel-Ange Balikwisha believes he has adapted to the intensity required at Celtic and is ready to show his true worth.
The winger made his first major contribution when he crossed for Daizen Maeda to head a late winner against Motherwell on Sunday.
The 24-year-old produced a hesitant first start against Rangers at Ibrox on August 31 and could not make an impact in his subsequent start against Kilmarnock, although manager Brendan Rodgers took responsibility for that after starting him on the right.
The left winger has since had to play second fiddle to fellow newcomer Sebastian Tounekti but his latest cameo off the bench gave him belief he can kick on.
“The sessions are more intense here than where I came from, so I had to adapt,” the Belgian told Celtic TV. “Now everything is fine and I hope it continues every day to help the team.
“As the gaffer said, it was not easy at the beginning as I was staying in the hotel, but today everything is sorted and it is time for me to show what I am capable of. The staff and my team-mates helped me a lot during that time.”
The arrival of Balikwisha, Tounekti and free agent striker Kelechi Iheanacho came after Celtic’s Champions League exit and the failure to land a right-winger has led to Daizen Maeda starting in an unfamiliar position after being denied a big-money move.
The only experienced forward to arrive before the goalless Champions League play-off against Kairat Almaty, Shin Yamada, has not featured in a matchday squad since the Ibrox stalemate.
The summer transfer performance and overall strategy was the key agenda point as club officials, including chief executive Michael Nicholson and chief financial officer Chris McKay, met fan representatives on Monday.
The Celtic Fans Collective had expressed its dissatisfaction with the outcome on Tuesday and the agreed minutes outlined the scale of the disconnect when they were published by Celtic.
Fans got few answers about what went wrong this summer, after the club previously admitted failing to achieve all of their objectives during the transfer window, with Nicholson confirming an internal review was ongoing.
The minutes added: “The club did not accept that there is a disconnect between the board and the manager or that transfer policy needs a fundamental overhaul.”
Nicholson confirmed the manager sanctioned all signings and “shrugged his shoulders” when asked why Rodgers referred to some new arrivals as “club signings”.
Supporters also questioned why non-executive directors were involved in the process after McKay and Nicholson confirmed transfers above a certain value require approval from the board via email.
Nicholson claimed Celtic’s European results were satisfactory after pointing out they had been involved in group stage football in 19 out of 20 years.
Fans, who saw Kairat Almaty add to a list of Champions League qualifying failures such as Midtjylland, Ferencvaros, Cluj, AEK Athens, Malmo and Maribor since 2014, had a differing opinion.
“The view was expressed that if the club thinks that the level of performance is acceptable then that is a concern,” the minutes added.
McKay also added that there was “no basis for further investigation” after board members were asked about a report that claimed “senior insiders” believed Rodgers was trying to engineer his exit.
A club statement read: “We were pleased to host this meeting and thank supporters for their attendance and involvement in these discussions. The club intends to invite the same groups of supporters to a further meeting in due course.”
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