There are some football interviews which leave me wondering whether a player genuinely thought about what he was saying before opening his mouth.

Then there are interviews that go beyond that, like the one from Michel-Ange Balikwisha, which leave me reaching for my imaginary red pen, preparing to mark his attitude and wondering whether somebody needs to explain to him what playing for Celtic actually means.

Balikwisha has angered Celtic supporters by revealing that, just ten minutes into his first Glasgow derby against the Ibrox mob, he already wanted to ask to be substituted because he was exhausted.

He has spoken about the intensity of Scottish football, the amount of running involved and how much more physically demanding he found the game compared with Belgium.

Now, I understand that players moving between leagues sometimes receive a shock. Different countries play football differently. Some leagues are faster, others more technical, others more physical, and it can take time for a player to adjust.

But ten minutes?

Michel-Ange, what exactly were you expecting? A gentle Sunday stroll around Paradise with somebody waiting at the side of the pitch with a wee coffee and a biscuit?

This is Celtic Football Club. The expectations are enormous, the support is passionate and every player who pulls on that green and white jersey knows, or should know, that effort is the absolute minimum required.

And yes, that sometimes involves running.

A revolutionary concept, I know.

Allow me, therefore, to introduce Balikwisha to somebody who might be able to teach him a thing or two about endurance.

My wee fluffy lassie Berry, my wee dog.

I once had to chase Berry around for more than forty minutes because she had decided that whatever plans I had for our walk were of absolutely no interest to her. She was having the time of her life. I was considerably less impressed.

Did I stop after ten minutes? Did I throw my hands in the air, announce that my thighs were burning and demand that somebody substitute me from my responsibilities as a dog owner?

Absolutely not. I had a responsibility to get my wee lassie safely back on her lead, so I kept going. Eventually I realised that chasing Berry was getting me nowhere, changed tactics and used a wee snack to persuade her to come back.

Problem solved. Job done.

And that is why, based purely on what Balikwisha has told us about his Glasgow derby experience, I am afraid I would not trust him to take Berry for a walk.

I can picture it already. Berry spots something interesting in the distance and decides she is off on another adventure.

Michel-Ange runs after her for ten minutes, starts puffing and panting and announces that somebody else will have to take over because his legs have had enough.

Meanwhile Berry is halfway towards Edinburgh, living her best life.

I am being sarcastic, obviously, but there is a serious point underneath it. Commitment is most important when something becomes difficult.

Nobody needs determination when everything is comfortable. The test comes when your legs hurt, when the opposition is stronger than expected, when the game is faster than you anticipated and when suddenly you realise that succeeding is going to require more from you than you originally thought.

That is the moment when you adapt.

It is the moment when you work harder. It is the moment when you decide whether you really want the opportunity you have been given.

I am not saying that Balikwisha feeling exhausted automatically makes him lazy. That would be unfair. Professional football is extraordinarily demanding, and moving into a new environment creates physical and mental challenges.

Players need time. They need proper preparation. They sometimes need patience. What bothers me is the impression created by his own account of the experience.

Celtic paid serious money for this player. He arrived with expectations and was handed the opportunity to represent this club in one of the biggest fixtures in Scottish football.

Ten minutes into it, he wanted out. How exactly are Celtic supporters supposed to hear that? We are not going to think: poor Michel-Ange, the Scottish game really is terribly difficult. We are going to wonder where the determination was to push through the discomfort and prove that he belonged there.

That is the problem with giving interviews like this after things have gone wrong.

Perhaps Balikwisha believes he is simply explaining his failure at Celtic. Perhaps to his audience in Belgium this all sounds perfectly reasonable. Maybe people there hear about the intensity of Scottish football and understand why he struggled.

But Celtic supporters hear those words through a completely different filter. We know players can adapt to Scottish football because we have watched hundreds of them do it.

Some succeed spectacularly. Some fail.

But effort is the one thing the support expects from everybody.

Nobody asks every Celtic signing to become Henrik Larsson.

Nobody expects perfection.

But supporters do expect somebody given the privilege of wearing that shirt to give absolutely everything he has. That is where Balikwisha’s comments become uncomfortable.

This is not really about whether Scottish football is good, bad, fast, physical or technically sophisticated. It is about how somebody responds when the environment turns out to be harder than expected.

Do you complain about the difficulty? Or do you become better equipped to handle it?

My English-teacher verdict is that context matters here.

Balikwisha is currently out on loan at Gent. He is not standing at Lennoxtown tomorrow morning demanding a place in Martin O’Neill’s starting eleven, and perhaps his future lies elsewhere. Not every transfer works. Sometimes the player and the club simply do not fit.

There is nothing shameful about that.

But if there is any part of him which still imagines coming back to Celtic and making a success of his time here, the attitude conveyed by these comments has to change.

You cannot treat Celtic as an inconvenience. You cannot look at the demands of the game here and decide they are somebody else’s problem.

You adapt to the club. The club does not lower its requirements to accommodate you.

That is how representing a major football club works.

Balikwisha may be talented. Celtic obviously believed he was when they signed him. But talent has never been enough by itself.

Mentality matters. Fitness matters. Determination matters.

And sometimes the difference between succeeding and failing is simply whether you respond to adversity by thinking, “I have to get better,” or, “I want to get out of here.”

So Michel-Ange, perhaps there is still a lesson in all of this.

If you want to rebuild your career, wherever that ultimately happens, take the experience and learn from it. Get fitter. Get stronger. Prepare yourself for the next challenge and make sure nobody ever hears you talking about wanting substituted after ten minutes again.

Because football supporters remember these things.

And Celtic supporters certainly will.

As for Berry, she receives full marks for stamina, determination and making her owner look completely ridiculous for forty minutes.

Balikwisha? I am afraid there is still considerable room for improvement. And if the two of them ever go running together, my money is firmly on my wee fluffy lassie being the one who is ready to keep going. He’d be lying flat on his back.

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