THIS Sunday Celtic face their second game of the season as they embark on the first away game of the new campaign against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

Kristoffer Ajer will find himself in very familiar surroundings having spent the second half of the 2016/17 season on loan at the Ayrshire side. He has come a long way since then, establishing himself as a key player in the heart of the Celtic defence and going on to become a top-class international with 14 caps for Norway.

Ajer said his time with Kilmarnock was important for his career and urged any young players to seize the chance to gain first-team experience in the top flight to help with their development.

"As a young player it's important to play as many games as you can at the highest level," said Ajer. "If you get a chance to go out on loan to a team in the Scottish Premiership it's really beneficial for young players.

"It helps you get used to senior football and get used to that side of the game. It also gets you used to the pressure of playing in front of a lot of fans as well. I came back to Celtic a more experienced player and that helped me to get into the team and handle the expectations of playing at that level."

Ajer played his part in Celtic’s impressive 5-1 Flag Day win over Hamilton Accies at Celtic Park last Sunday. Odsonne Edouard hit a hat-trick, while there were also goals from Jeremie Frimpong and Patryk Klimala. Celtic’s season is most definitely up and running.

"Everyone has been really excited to get going again after such a long break," said Ajer in an exclusive interview with the Celtic View. "To finally be back playing is a good feeling and the whole squad is excited to show what we can do.

"We've been eager to put on a performance after all the hard work during pre-season. When you look around the full squad, everyone looks really sharp in training and we're excited to show that in the games.

"Every season is a massive season when you play for a club like Celtic. We know we have to be at our best from the first game of the season. The fans expect us to win every game and we are hungry to win every game.

“That is never easy so we have to work hard in training to make sure we can live up to the expectations when we go out on to the pitch. We all love that kind of pressure and we've missed it, but that time away from football has only made us hungrier for more success.

"When you play for Celtic you always want to win every game you play. We go out there to impress in every game and show our qualities. Every team wants to beat us and take points off us and we know that so we have to be at our best in every game and stay focused. When you are champions you want to show your opponents that and show your strengths. When you have targets to win every game you need to make an impression."

Read the full and exclusive interview with Kris Ajer ONLY in this week's Celtic View. On sale now.

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Celtic View interview: Ajer ready for Killie's artificial challenge