Brendan Rodgers praised David Turnbull after the midfielder rounded off an impressive showing in pre-season with the winner against Athletic Club on Tuesday evening in the James Forrest Testimonial. Turnbull, very much a bit-player under Ange Postecoglou last season, is entering the final year of his contract and maybe was thinking about a move elsewhere due to the lack of starts last season.
That tough could now change as he’s done his chances with the new manager no harm at all over the past month and the Celtic manager has admitted that Turnbull is a player who has caught his eye in pre-season.
“I thought David was excellent on Tuesday night, he was very good,” the Celtic manager said, as reported by Scottish Sun. “He’s been good in pre-season, I have to say — he was excellent in Japan. I really like him as a footballer, he’s got tools, he’s comfortable on the ball and he can score goals.
“His efficiency is very good. He just needs to keep working and to keep on the move. It’s always important with those players that they don’t turn the engine off, you’ve got to keep working.
“Like I said, I’ve been impressed with David.”
While Celtic’s midfield was very much second best in the first half against Athletic Club, the tables were turned in an impressive second half showing from the changed Hoops side with Turnbull starring alongside the equally impressive Matt O’Riley and new signing Odin Thiago Holm, giving Rodgers plenty to think about ahead of Saturday’s season opener against Ross County at Celtic Park.
One thing is certain, the Celtic boss is not short of options for his midfield trio to take on the Highlanders and his selection will be interesting to say the least. One strong feature of Ange Postecoglou’s management last season was his excellent use of substitutions, usually after an hour’s play, so this may well be repeated by Rodgers this time around.
For every player in the squad there’s been a clean slate, as is usually the case when there’s a change of manager, and it’s then up to the players to impress their new boss.
“Yeah, a lot of these guys I don’t know, so for me there’s a clean slate for them all. It’s assessing over the course of pre-season, what they’ve done in the past doesn’t really matter.
“That includes the guys who have worked with me before. They have to have that hunger.”
And with the progress that David Turnbull has been making under Brendan Rodgers, don’t be surprised if there are now an increased urgency to get a contract extension signed.
