BOLI BOLINGOLI has revealed he is thriving being involved in the strain game.
The Belgian left-back arrived on a £3million transfer from Rapid Vienna in the summer just before fans’ favourite Kieran Tierney’s £25million exit for Arsenal.
Bolingoli was under immediate pressure right from the start and is now in a three-way battle for the No.3 position with £2.25million arrival of Greg Taylor from Kilmarnock and the versatility of Jonny Hayes.
The pacy defender, who has played at the top in Austria with Brugge and Rapid, now acknowledges what is expected to succeed at the Hoops where the winning mentality is to the forefront.
Bolingoli, who played in the 2-1 win over Aberdeen at the weekend, told the Daily Record: “Of course, pressure is always good if it’s healthy. It can push you up and make you perform.
“It was a bit like that at Brugge, but not like here at Celtic. I wasn’t playing all of the time there like now, for example.
RED ALERT…Boli Bolingoli races away from Dons’ James Wilson in the Hoops’ 2-1 win.
“Mentally we are very strong. We just try to do our job and you see the whole team is doing well. I’ve just come back from injury, but I feel I am coping.
“I actually feel more of the pressure here that we have to win every game, but I can’t complain, it feels good.
“As a player, you want to win every game and here at Celtic we know we have to.”
Bolingoli watched club talisman Odsonne Edouard slide home the points-clincher against the Dons added: “He is important, but every player is important at Celtic. What Odsonne is doing for us up front is just him doing his job and he is doing it well.
“When he plays, you feel the difference, but every attacker from Ryan Christie to James Forrest are doing amazing here.
“They are all important and we feel good that we keep winning the games. It was a good match against Aberdeen and you saw how many chances we created.
“It could be five goals or more every game, but the most important thing is that we create the chances.
“At the end, we have taken the three points in every one of the last 10 games, so we can’t complain too much if we don’t finish every situation we create.”
Bolingoli is now ready to face St Mirren in Paisley on Boxing Day and the visit of Steven Gerrard’s side a week on Sunday to bring down the curtain on his first five months as a Celtic player.
