It must have been the culture shock of all culture shocks but for Eboue Kouassi it won’t have did him any harm.
From the Ivory Coast to Lennoxtown, brutally exposed to the Campsies on a cold winters night with the wind and rain howling across the pitch.
It certainly wasn’t the glamour of a Champions League night at home to Barcelona or Manchester City.
Dundee were the visitors as Celtic’s £2.8m January signing put in his first 90 minutes in the hoops.
It was a quiet night for the former Krasnodar midfielder, any stranger looking in would have been more impressed by the drive and energy of Mark Hill who never let up over the 90 minutes.
In matches like these the ‘name’ player is always the big attraction to opposition players and the match officials.
During a quiet first half two fouls were given against Kouassi but there was one crunching tackle he delivered near the touchline where he showed how he’ll be ready for the Ryan Bowman’s and Iain Vigurs’ of the Scottish game.
The first half was best forgotten but straight from the restart there was a purpose to the game as both sides opened up a little and started to test their opponents.
Kouassi looked decent on the ball but wasn’t playing any better than his midfield team-mates as Celtic pushed for a goal.
Just past the hour mark Fiacre Kelleher bundled home the only goal of the game after PJ Crossan headed on a corner from Hill.
Ten minutes from the end Kouassi took a boot in the stomach with the referee showing no interest in the ‘challenge’ or in stopping play as the midfielder lay suffering on the ground.
In the 89th minute the new bhoy was booked, the sound of the final whistle must have been sweet.
As a snapshot of the challenges ahead last night was perfect. With a few more matches under his belt Kouassi will be ready for his top team debut and the difficult task of forcing his way into Brendan Rodgers Starting XI.