Former Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew has asked whether Brendan Rodgers can resolve the Liel Abada issue. The young attacker missed the win over St Mirren for personal reasons after the manager admitted that he was not in the right frame of mind to play given the current conflict in Gaza.
Speaking to Clyde 1 Superscoreboard on Tuesday evening, Mulgrew asked whether the situation could be resolved and whether the manager would be able to do that.
“I think if he’s not in the right frame of mind then he needs to weigh that up. Can Brendan Rodgers get the best out of him? Can he bring it back and get the best out of himself? Can he have that connection with the fans and get them onside with him and him playing his best football?”
While Gordon Dalziel said that he reckoned that Rodgers would be able to showcase his elite man-management skills with Abada, Mulgrew said that the manager would need to work out
“He needs to decide whether he can do that. And that probably takes a couple of months, a couple of weeks and decide that before the summer. If he can’t then he probably needs to go.
“Because the most important thing is that he’s on top of his game for Celtic and enjoying his football. And if that’s not the case then for all parties it’s best that he moves on.”
There appeared to be a rhetoric in the media that Abada was finding it difficult and that clubs were considering a loan. In retrospect, it was probably an accurate reflection of the turmoil that the attacker is in.
In 112 appearances, Abada has 29 goals and 22 assists. The right winger was a huge part of the Ange Postecoglou era at the club and looked set to kick on under Rodgers but an injury then Israel’s invasion of Gaza increased the noise around the player.
Despite being welcomed back onto the field against Rangers, Abada has not celebrated with the fans at full-time in any games, which suggests that he is struggling to deal with the fanbase showing their support for Palestine.
