COMPETITION for a place up front in the Hoops is at a premium with Odsonne Edouard and Albian Ajeti in such fine form but Patryk Klimala believes his hard work will pay off.

The Polish striker may only started one of Celtic’s seven league games this season but he has shown his potential with two goals as a substitute. Klimala believes that number should be at least four but, he is not letting the missed opportunities haunt him and insists there’ll be plenty of goals to come if he continues down the path he is on.

Neil Lennon handed Klimala his first start in the league this season in last week’s 2-1 win over St Mirren in Paisley and Klimala is eager for more playing time in the Hoops to show what he can do.

“It was a hard game against St Mirren,” said Klimala in an exclusive interview in this week's Celtic View. “It was a really important game for us because we needed to get all three points from our game in hand. St Mirren made it difficult for us, especially with them scoring the first goal. Once they were ahead they defended well and they sat very deep for all 90 minutes.

“For Odsonne and I, that made it a hard game. In total, we had around four or five shots on goal. There was no room to shoot on goal with so many players in and around the box and it became a possession game for us. We had to try and get crosses into the box and we got great goals from headers.

“I’m happy we got the win and with how the game went. Personally, I was happy with my performance given the kind of game it was and I’m looking forward to getting back out on the pitch. I’m in good shape and feel ready for the games ahead.”

St Mirren’s approach to the game was a familiar one for Celtic. The champions regularly come up against deep-lying defences in their domestic duties and space is hard to come by when opposition teams defend so deeply. Klimala knows he will encounter a similar situation time and time again with Celtic but he believes Neil Lennon is teaching him how to overcome such problems.

“I’ve learned a lot from the manager,” said the 22-year-old. “The most important thing he’s taught me is how to play with my back to goal. That is something we’ll have to do when we face teams who defend deep and limit the space.

“It was hard for me to adjust to problems like that when I first came here but now I feel confident in the set-up and with how the manager wants me to play. I feel like I’ve learned a lot more tactically under Neil Lennon than with any other manager I’ve played for so he’s definitely the best manager I’ve had in my life.”

To read the full interview with Patryk Klimala, pick up the latest issue of the Celtic View.

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Klimala: Hard work key to more opportunities in the Hoops