Youssouf Mulumbu put in a man of the match performance as Kilmarnock refused to budge when Steven Gerrard’s men came to town for their Scottish Cup tie. The game ended 0-0 and will now go to a replay at Ibrox.
Mulumbu slipped seamlessly back into the Killie side he left in the summer after making a deadline day switch back to Kilmarnock from Celtic.
The midfielder has now lifted the lid on life in Paradise and explained the situation which meant he was on the outside looking in at Parkhead, revealing a conversation with Brendan Rodgers which paved the way for a move back to Kilmarnock for the rest of the season.
Mulumbu admits he was frustrated and joked Ryan Christie took his potential place in the team but the midfielder remained humble and is also happy for his Celtic teammate.
“It was hard at Celtic. You are going into a team which is winning every game and you see players like Ryan Chistie, who deserved to play, get his chance.” Mulumbu told SunSport.
“I was frustrated, but I was also happy for Ryan because he and I were in the same situation.
“You could say he took my spot, but he really deserved it and I just tried to stay fit.
“I spoke with the gaffer at Celtic and he said if I could get some games on loan, he’d let me go.”
Mulumbu came into Celtic in the summer as a free agent to be a backup player for Scott Brown with the captain facing injuries.
It would be Callum McGregor slotting into Brown’s position and Ryan Christie’s emergence which would leave Mulumbu on the sidelines having only made three appearances for the club.
The Kilmarnock player still has a year to go on his Celtic contract and will report back to the club in the summer.
