Alistair Johnston. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)
Q: Obviously, you’ve got the cotton wool out for the cup final with a few of the guys but is it a temptation to look at some players or maybe some younger players as well in the next game or so?
Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, I will do. That’s exactly what it will be. I’ll give the opportunity to players to play and also I’m one as well. I like to judge sometimes a player away from home. It’s nice when they can play at home in front of 60,000 and all the support is there but it’s also, for me, being a Celtic player is also how you can cope away from home. I’ll definitely do that in the next few games.”
Q: You were at the Glasgow Cup final last week. Are there youths coming through who can emulate guys like Callum McGregor, James Forrest, Tony Ralston, Kieran Tierney and all that stuff? Are the next ones coming through, do you feel?
Brendan Rodgers: “Well, it’s going to be a little bit of time. That’s the honest answer to that. The level of the Glasgow Cup final wasn’t a great game. That’s my view of the game. Obviously, the pitch wasn’t in the best condition at the back end of the season so the speed and the level of the game wasn’t of the highest quality. There’s some talented players here but it’s going to take them time and work and development in order to get the opportunity. If you look through my career, I’ve always played young players. I’ve played players as young as 16 years of age but it’s not meant to be easy. You don’t just give players, they have to earn it and they have to deserve it and they have to be warranted that opportunity through hard work and quality.”
Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Christie. Photo: Richard Lee/Sportimage
Q: Is it important not to just give them games to try and keep them at the club? It’s got to be earned?
Brendan Rodgers: “It’s a catch-22 really. I just try and simplify it. I’ve always throughout my career, I’ve judged a young player like any other player in terms of their age. I’m not so much worried about what age he is – does he have the talent or does he have the personality to have that wee bit of mental toughness to put him into the arena? If they have that, they’ll get opportunities and then can they sustain that. But a young player’s development might well be that he needs to get out and get into the men’s game and the rough and tumble of it and then come back and be better for it. I see a great example of young Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who I had at Leicester. He scored for Chelsea last night. Kiernan was a young player who’d come through the academy, hadn’t played in the first team. He was a talented player but really didn’t have any opportunities. But I’d seen something in him. I gave him his debut in the FA Cup against Brentford away from home and then sent him out on loan the next day as part of the plan for him to get minutes and grow as a young player. He had six months at Blackpool, then he went a year to Luton, done very well. When he came back he was ready and then it was just about timing. And then when he got in the team, away to Southampton, he never came out of the team and progressed really well. So it’s about timing, it’s about each individual player, what their needs are. Ryan Christie was the same here when he was here. I sent him to Aberdeen, had a great spell there, really developed under Derek when he was there. Then he came back here ready and then it was just about timing. Then he got that opportunity in the semi-final at Murrayfield. So for young players, there’s always a pathway here.”
Johnny Kenny with Dane Murray at Fir Park on Sunday.Motherwell v Celtic, 2nd February 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou
Q: You’ve mentioned Dane Murray a couple of times, will we see him?
Brendan Rodgers: “No, he’s injured. Sadly for him, he’s just had a wee clean-up of his knee. Dane’s one I really, really like. He’s got a lot of attributes. He’s got good pace, he’s strong, he’s brave, he’s competitive and he can play. So sadly for him, it’ll be pre-season with him and then again it’ll be the decision of is he around to play or do we need to get him games?”
