Jeffrey Schlupp: Celtic spell has exceeded my expectations

Jeffrey Schlupp says his Celtic experience so far has “exceeded expectations” after he played 90 minutes in the Allianz Arena and almost helped his side pull off a shock against Bayern Munich.

The 32-year-old was a surprise name in the starting line-up for the second leg of the Champions League knockout stage play-off clash ahead of Greg Taylor.

Schlupp faced a challenging start as Bayern regularly spread the ball out to Michael Olise, his former Crystal Palace team-mate, but he quickly grew into the game and helped the Hoops create a series of chances.

Celtic were seconds away from forcing extra time before Alphonso Davies equalised in the final seconds to seal an aggregate win for Bayern, but Schlupp will take positive memories from the experience.

“It felt like everything was happening down my side, to be honest,” the left-back said. “But yeah, you do enjoy it.

“You know you’re in a battle, you’re slide-tackling, you’re running back, you’re giving everything, and the rewards are obviously massive. You know what I mean?

“And obviously when you’re playing against top players, you don’t really have a choice but to compete, which is what we all want to do.

“I came to this club because I wanted to compete, I wanted to play games, and to play in a massive game like that, it’s just bringing me joy, obviously. I had great fun out there.”

Schlupp is set to play his sixth game for Celtic when they take on Hibernian in the William Hill Premiership on Saturday, less than three weeks since he signed.

“I obviously came here to hopefully get some game time, but knowing that the squad’s obviously flying at the minute anyway, so to be able to have played this much so soon, it’s obviously massive,” he added.

“And also pretty much all the games have been at home, which has been great as well. I’ve loved going out there in front of the fans. Obviously everyone knows the history behind it.

“I’ve played there one time before I came here and I was just itching to play in front of the home fans and I’ve managed to do that more times than not.

“So yeah, it has exceeded my expectations probably. I knew a little bit of what to expect, but to actually play for Celtic at home has been amazing.”

With Schlupp’s Palace contract due to expire at the end of the season, there is speculation he could remain in Glasgow for the longer term.

But with Kieran Tierney signed on a pre-contract and uncertainty hanging over the future of Taylor, the situation remains fluid.

“Everyone’s sort of asking that question, but again, I’ve come here on loan to the end of the season,” Schlupp said.

“Anything beyond that is out of my control at the minute, so I’ve just got to focus on the league for now. I want to win the league, I want to win the cup, and then what will be, will be.”