Reo Hatate certainly appeared to be a frustrated Celtic player last summer with the change of manager at the club perhaps affecting him more than anyone else brought to the club by Ange Postecoglou.
Brendan Rodgers too appeared somewhat reluctant to buy into the hype surrounding Hatate from the Celtic support, who were surprised that David Turnbull was being preferred to the Japan international midfielder who had impressed so much under Ange’s guidance.
Now a year down the line, and after a frustrating, injury-hit season for Reo that eventually came good when he returned to play his part in the strong finish that delivered the league and Scottish Cup double, the Celtic manager is marvelling at the magic Hatate can bring to his Celtic team and is happy to discuss the journey over the past year that ultimately will make Reo an even better player in this Brendan-ball system that is now looking wonderful to watch and must terrify the rest of the league.
“I think that what I’ve seen over the course of pre-season, he’s top class,” Brendan said after yesterday’s 4-0 win over Kilmarnock at Celtic Park, as reported by Daily Record. “I didn’t see the player that I hoped to see at the beginning of last season, for whatever reason. I was aware of him and I’d seen him play and I liked what I’d seen. But he never really got going through pre-season last year. And not to what I was wanting. He got injured and then it was really broken for him.
“He had little spells where he came into the team, but not consistently. But he’s come back pre-season now and, obviously, how the season ended, there’s that confidence. He knows I like him as a player and he knows what I want from him as a player. I’d hoped I could see that last season, but it doesn’t matter. He’s here now and he’s been absolutely brilliant since his comeback. So I’m really pleased for him,” Brendan said.
Attitude though was never a factor in what happened last season as the player and manager took time to get on the same wavelength and this was also frustrated by the injury issues that plagued Reo last season
“I just think it’s just probably him maybe gaining a bit more clarity around what I want from a central midfield player,” Brendan explained as his dismissed any attitude issues surrounding Hatate last term.
“I want all the players to do their very best for Celtic. And then that ambition to do well for Celtic will help them in their individual careers. So, for me, it was always about balance. There was always a wonderful, gifted player in how he takes the ball and how he operates in space. For me, it was about keeping the risk in the game. Because I don’t like midfield players that keep the ball 10 times out of 10. It’s no good. But there are areas of the pitch in which to risk it.
“I think now he really sees the balance in the game between keeping the ball, keeping good concentration, linking the game, but still having the threat. You would have seen that in pre-season, you would have seen it at times in the second half of last season. But now I see a much more complete player.”
That Celtic midfield of Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley is the best Celtic has had for a very long time, hopefully all three will be in the Celtic team for the first Glasgow Derby of the season on 1 September.
