Kristoffer Ajer insisted the work ethic and bond between the players would be the key to helping Celtic unlock their potential and return to peak form after their draw against Aberdeen at the weekend.

Celtic left Pittodrie with just a point on Sunday after an injury-time penalty allowed Derek McInnes’ side to make it 3-3 seconds before the final whistle.

The champions showed great character to twice come from behind, with Callum McGregor showing great individual play to score a wonderful equaliser shortly after half-time. The home side regained the lead but Leigh Griffiths came off the bench to draw the champions level again.

A surging run forward from Ajer led to the foul on Moi Elyounoussi inside the box, and the midfielder put Celtic ahead from the spot. However, it was cancelled out when Lewis Ferguson scored his second penalty of the afternoon.

Ajer said he was happy to have contributed but added he was disappointed Celtic did not take all three points.

“I was delighted to help with one of the goals but I’m never delighted when we lose three goals,” said the Norwegian defender. “We’ve conceded too many goals over the last week and we have to change that.

“It was a really emotional game. We went into half-time not happy with conceding the goal and we felt we had a lot of the ball but didn’t create enough chances.

“Tom and Cal combine really well to score the first goal. I felt like we were really getting going then but they’re always dangerous on the break. They have a few really skilful players upfront that ca hurt you and they did exactly that.

“I was delighted to help with one of the goals but I’m never delighted when we lose three goals. We’ve conceded too many goals over the last week and we have to change that.”

Despite the frustration of drawing, Ajer remained confident in his assertion that Celtic will improve with every game going forward because of the characters in the team and the hunger to win.

“This is a great bunch of players who have been through so much over the last few years. We always stick together, we work hard every day in training and we’ll work hard to get back to winning ways.”

Ajer: Our togetherness and work ethic will put us back on track