Celtic crash course for summer recruit: first Germany call-up, Ferencvaros pain and recipe for Rangers redemption

Mika Baur has spent the past week experiencing both extremes of life at Celtic. From the personal exhilaration of earning his first Germany call-up by Jurgen Klopp, to the disappointment of successive defeats to Rangers and Ferencvaros.

For the ex-Paderborn midfielder, though, there is little time to dwell on either. The personal milestones can wait. Celtic’s immediate future cannot.

The club’s latest setback, a 3-1 Europa League defeat at home to the Hungarians, has ramped up the importance of Sunday's return fixture with Rangers at Celtic Park. And Baur's attention is already fixed on what he believes is required.

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“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” the 20-year-old said of his Germany call-up. “It’s a big honour and I’m really proud of it. But, I really don’t want to talk about something individual at the moment. It’s all about Sunday. It’s really important for us, for Celtic. It’s not about me or my call up, it’s about Sunday for sure.”

The contrast is striking. Less than 48 hours ago, Baur was celebrating the sort of international recognition that can alter the trajectory of a young player's career. Now he is demanding a more visceral response from Celtic.

His assessment of the Ferencvaros defeat was unsparing. Celtic had begun with purpose, pressing forward and imposing themselves, before losing their momentum and allowing the visitors to dictate the contest.

“In the first half it was just two easy goals,” he commented. “We started well in the match, the first minutes we were really pushing forward. Then I don’t know why we stopped. We played back a lot of times. Sometimes you need that and it makes sense, but I think we could go forward much more.”

The fine details mattered. Celtic were beaten in the contests that followed. “We lost the important duels, second balls,” Baur added. “We made some really stupid mistakes again. Then you lose the game and we deserved it.”

Baur's focus was not on apportioning blame. Instead, he repeatedly returned to the collective responsibility required before another meeting with Rangers, this time on Premiership business.

“I don’t think it’s up to me to tell you what each player should do better,” he said. “But as a team, we need to stick together, get the energy level really high on Sunday. We need to win the fights and the duels, that’s the most important thing. We will not win it through beautiful football and nice play. Maybe we will score through it, but we will win the game with mentality and energy. That’s what everybody should bring into the match on Sunday.”

Baur was one of five Celtic players making their Old Firm debut at Ibrox last weekend, but the occasion itself did not surprise him. The scale of the hostility of playing in front of only Rangers fans did not come as a shock; rather, it was something to be absorbed and managed.

“No,” he responded when asked whether anything had surprised him about the fixture. “You can feel that it’s a special game. For sure, you have 50,000 people against you. But you should handle that. On Sunday it will be completely different. There will be 60,000 on our side. So we should use that. We need everyone. We players will give 100-per-cent on the field and we need everybody else to get that energy back and win. You have to be ready for these games.”

The broader challenge of Celtic is as much personal as professional for Baur. He is still adjusting to a new country, a new culture and the expectations that accompany playing for one of Scotland's biggest clubs, all while making his way into the Germany set-up.

“It is, for sure, a big club,” he said. “But I knew it when I came here and I know what it means to play for Celtic and I just try to give my all for it. At the moment there’s a lot going on. It’s also individual parts; moving to another country, learning a new culture, I’ve never played for a club the size of this, the Germany call up. I really try to focus on short steps and now the next step is Sunday.”

That next step is an Old Firm rematch in front of a packed Celtic Park. “I don’t know it’s about revenge,” he said. “That was not us last Sunday, so it’s more about getting back to ourselves, getting back to the winning streak, get three points and leave them behind us.”

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