Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has urged young talent Sean McArdle to step up and make his presence felt within the squad…
The 17 year-old midfielder marked a milestone in his young life by making his first appearance for the club the Hoops’ 3-1 home victory over Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership at Celtic Park on Saturday.
The Irishman revealed that McArdle’s impressive displays for Celtic B earned him a late run-out, featuring in the final minutes and stoppage time against David Gray’s side.
Proud moment for Sean McArdle, making his first-team debut! 😁#CELHIB | #CelticFC 🍀🏆 pic.twitter.com/etnqFu7laK
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) May 10, 2025
Rodgers sees great promise in McArdle’s early talent and believes the youngster can develop further by taking inspiration from first-team skipper Callum McGregor.
The 52-year-old said: “He’s [Sean McArdle] done really well in the B team, 17 years of age, obviously giving that feeling. I want him to be a personality, even though he’s only on 10, 12 minutes, whatever it was, and he showed that.”
“I like him, he’s got decent legs, he’s got a nice football brain, left-sided, he’s got culture when he plays, and now he’s got the best role models you can have in some of the players that we have here, like Callum and these guys, to learn from.”
🗣️ “He’s had the opportunity, now the really hard work begins to try and sustain that”
Brendan Rodgers on giving 17 year old Sean McArdle his first-team debut in Celtic’s win over Hibs ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/OKypsFlGLg
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) May 10, 2025
“It gives him a little reward for the good work that he’s done, now he’s got to continue learning and see what comes from it.”
Ahead of Celtic’s encounter with Hibs, Rodgers emphasised that age isn’t a limitation at a club like Celtic – but stressed that first-team chances must be deserved through hard work and merit. He said: “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. It’s a catch-22 situation 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,” the Celtic manager said.
“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. So, for young players, there’s always a pathway here.”
Was at Celtic Park today with my son Sean to watch him sign with Celtic, proud family! pic.twitter.com/CXP73mevYt
— Patrick McArdle (@PatMcardle7) August 3, 2021
17 year old Sean McArdle. What dreams are made of 🍀💚 pic.twitter.com/xc9LfyaWbP
— Wat_the_deuce 🍀🇮🇪☘️ 2 (@wat_thee_deuce_) May 11, 2025
Conor Spence
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