Brendan Rodgers warns Daniel Cummings about agents with a different agenda

Q: The changes you made in the game, there were young players. Is that something you could maybe see a wee bit more of between now and the end of the season, some youth players getting a chance?

Brendan Rodgers: “Youth players will always get the chance from me if they’re good enough. You know, the pathway is not meant to be easy. Just because you’re a youth player at Celtic, it doesn’t mean then you go and play for the first team. It means you’ve got to earn the right. Dane Murray is a player I really like. I’ve seen him play here early on in his career and then he had a horrendous injury that’s put him out for a long time. He’s come back, you can see the work he’s done. He’s 6’4″, he’s big, he’s got good pace, he can play. I wanted to stick him on the other night because the things I’ve been telling him in order to be a top player, because he’s a great big guy, he’s a nice big guy. You step on the pitch, you’ve got to be aggressive. And sometimes you don’t understand that until you experience it.

“So to stick him on for 15-20 minutes, to get bashed up a bit and make a mistake, that’s a part of your learning. Because you can play relaxed, or you can look relaxed, but you can’t play relaxed. But I think if he can really make that mindset step, then he could be a really good player for us.” So that possibility to stick him on there. Liam Scales cramped, he’d obviously not played for a wee while. So we had to make those changes, Daniel coming on, Adam had run his race, done great for us. I always say the same thing, if the young players are good enough and they have the right mentality, there’ll always be an opportunity of playing him.”

Q: There’s talk of Daniel Cummings getting a new contract, is there any update on that?

Brendan Rodgers: “There’s no update on that. I’d always say for the young players, I think the challenge here now for young players is patience. They want to be in the first team at 17, 18. But that’s difficult at a club like this here, unless you’re an incredibly special talent. But it doesn’t mean that you can never be. I’ve spent my career and my life developing young players, putting them in the team. And some have been ready. Like Raheem Sterling at 17 years of age. He was ready. Physically, mentally, ability, everything. Then there’s been some other players, like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, that need a wee bit more time, and he gets his debut, and then he’s ready a bit later.

“It’s just about time. What young players need to have here is, is understand that there’s a bit of patience needed. And the captain of the club is a perfect example. Young players come through the system, had to take a loan away from here, and then at 21 he plays, and now tomorrow he’s playing his 500th game. There’s no greater example. But if you want to be patient and trust the club, you’ll get there. If you don’t, you might listen to your agent, who’s got a different agenda, that takes you away from here, and then you’ll go somewhere else. But there’ll always be chances here for young players. One, if they have the ability. Two, if they have a bit of patience.”

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