ALBIAN Ajeti has insisted he is capable of coming good at Celtic in the new season and finally justifying the £5m fee the Parkhead club paid for him last summer.

Ajeti captained a young Celtic team in a pre-season friendly against Sheffield Wednesday in Wales on Wednesday afternoon and scored in a comfortable 3-1 victory.

The Swiss striker was only on target six times in the 2020/21 campaign and as the Glasgow giants failed in their bid to complete 10-In-A-Row.

The 24-year-old, who moved to Scotland from West Ham last August, admitted that he had found it difficult to settle in this country during the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, Ajeti is convinced that he can show why Neil Lennon was so keen to secure his services and predicted that Celtic supporters being allowed back inside stadiums will help both him and the team. 

“I’m looking forward to the new season,” he said. “I’m very motivated. I’m working hard to try and get the best out of pre-season. My mind is fully focused on the new season. 

“It (lockdown) wasn’t easy. Absolutely, it was a difficult season. But that wasn’t just the case for me. Almost the whole world was like this. 

“I’m happy we are getting back towards normal and to enjoying life again. It wasn’t an easy time, but I’m happy we are moving almost back to normal again. 

“I’m looking forward now to getting everything back to normal and focusing myself on the new season. We will try to reach the goals as a club.” 

Ajeti continued: “I hope we can get the fans back in the stadium as soon as possible. That’s also a key thing.

“That’s a big part for Celtic. I haven’t had that experience yet, but I know and hear what it is like to play at Celtic Park with the fans. I hope that happens as soon as possible. 

“We didn’t reach our goals last season, both personally and as a team. First of all, we want to be back on top at the end of the season. That’s our main target as a club. 

“Personally, I want to help the team as much as I can to reach that goal. If we reach that, I think everyone will shine and everyone will be happy.”

Ajeti admitted that he had been honoured to don the Celtic captain’s armband against Wednesday in Newport.

He is certain the Parkhead club have enough big personalities to cope without Scott Brown whoever is made skipper on a permanent basis.

“I can’t lie,” he said. “It was a great feeling to be captain on Wednesday. It was only a friendly game but I was still proud to be captain. But the most important thing is to be on the pitch and help the team. 

“It’s almost impossible to find another Scott Brown. We are trying to get the best of it without Scott. I think we have some great leaders in the team, good characters and different types of characters. That’s needed in a club. 

“We need to stick together now and fully focus on the season ahead. I think that is the key way to be successful.”

Ajeti has been impressed by new Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou and is positive the former Australia and Yokohama F Marinos coach can help the Parkhead club reclaim their mantle as the dominant force in Scotland.

“It has been very good with the manager,” he said. “We started with maybe just 10, 15 or 20 players then more lads came in every day. Now we are almost all together.  

“It’s great to see all the faces again. We have a good atmosphere in the dressing room and on the pitch. We are training hard and really enjoying it. 

“The manager is very calm, but he is so confident. He is so convincing in everything he says and does, which gives us players a lot of confidence as well.” 

Ajeti added: “We are sticking together. We want to win. It doesn’t matter if it is Champions League, Europa League, a league, cup or friendly game, we want to win it.  

“I think we showed a reaction in the first game when we went 1-0 down (against Sheffield Wednesday). These are things the manager put in our heads with the right words.” 

Ajeti has made 10 appearances for Switzerland, but he was left out of Granit Xhaka’s squad for the Euro 2020 finals due to his disappointing displays up front for Celtic last season.

The forward is keen to rediscover his best form and force his way back into the national set-up before Qatar 2022.

“I know I could have been part of it but what can I do now?” he said. “I can’t go back. The only thing I can do now is to keep my head calm and work even harder to be there for the World Cup. In 2022 there is another big tournament. 

“But I was still very happy and proud of what the national team of Switzerland achieved. Obviously I would have liked to be there but it doesn’t change my mind. I will keep working.”