EFE AMBROSE has revealed he wants to remain at Celtic and make a significant contribution as the club go for their sixth title in a row as well as hoping to make an impact again on Europe.
The versatile Nigerian international is likely to partner Erik Sviatchenko in the middle of the Hoops rearguard against Lincoln Red Imps in the Champions League qualifier in Gibraltar tomorrow night.
Ambrose, 27, has admitted he has endured some difficult times over his four-year career with the Parkhead outfit and said: “Yeah, it’s tough sometimes.
“But when it gets tough, that’s when you show your character, determination and willpower.
“Sometimes it has been really tough for me. But I am a man. I never give up, I always stand up, I keep on fighting. I am a fighter. The most important thing is that the club always comes first.
“Really, I am always happy. You have to be happy and content with life. I give thanks to God because we are all here because of Him. He gives us life and the opportunity to be here.
“So, every day, when I see the breaking of the day, I thank God – and then the next thing I think about is football. I really love playing this game. It has given me my daily bread, so how could I not love it?
“For me, Celtic is a place I really love – and I want to be part of it. There is no place like home. And Celtic is home for me. I’m ready to do everything to remain here and continue playing here.
“You can see the philosophy of the team, the history behind the club, the objective of this group. That is what means so much to me.
“It’s one thing that every player dreams of, to play for a club like Celtic. It was a dream for me. Since I arrived at Celtic, I knew I’d never been anywhere like this before. Every day, I saw that.
“I knew I had to work very hard to earn the honour of playing for this club, to wear the green and white of Celtic. I want to help the club, to improve every day so I can make a contribution.
“But, as you know, the past few years have not been great. The most important thing now is that the new gaffer has come in, we’ve put all that behind us. The objective now is to focus on the new season.
“Every gaffer has his own philosophy, his own style and his own ideas about how he wants the team to play. His style is different. The way we play, the objectives he’s set us, we’ve bought into the intensity. Everybody is willing to give everything for the club.”
Ambrose looked back at the short reign of Brendan Rodgers’ predecessor Ronny Deila and added: “In the past two years, I don’t think we have had good preparation before the Champions League games.
“But now you can see the manager has made everyone come in earlier so we can prepare properly and have more time to get ready for the game.
“The games we have played have been good preparation. We are determined and are focused on the play-off games because we know what it means to us, the fans and Celtic, as a whole, to qualify this time.
“For two years we have not been there – and that’s not been Celtic. So this time we want to get back to being Celtic, to how we used to be, to play in the Champions League and compete there. That is our focus and aim.
“The manager has told me to keep it simple. He told me I have everything he needs and he sees what I can bring to the team.
“All he has said is to play simple, don’t force it. As a defender you have to focus, stay compact and he has brought that into training; the way he wants to play.
“I believe he has already helped us individually and as a team. He will help to improve us. We have been together for three weeks and we have already improved.
“With him, I believe, we can do much better this season.”
