Inside take: Brendan rodgers has restored players' confidence at Celtic
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All the talk since Tuesday night has been on how Celtic will respond to their humbling in Barcelona, but what is the reality? Graeme MacPherson, of the Sunday Herald and Times, offer his insight into the Celtic camp ahead of their visit to Inverness.
GM: It’s a bit like the sublime to the ridiculous, isn’t it? Brendan Rodgers came out and said it wasn’t embarrassing, but both Scott Brown and Patrick Roberts have said it was. I think he’s trying to take the heat off the players and they know they should have done better.
The good news for Inverness is that Celtic could be tired after what happened but the bad news is they’ll be fired up to get something. If it had only been three or four against Barcelona it wouldn’t have been too bad, but you can see the players are hurting.
Aside from that game though, everything has gone well for them so far…
GM: They’ve won every game and even when they were 3-1 up against Rangers, they didn’t take their foot off the pedal.
Brendan likes to play 4-2-3-1 and he’s got plenty of in the attacking third, so he might freshen things up. Guys like Tom Rogic, Stuart Armstrong and James Forrest could come in and it’ll be interesting to see what changes he makes.
What has been the biggest difference in the team since Brendan took over?
GM: You can see the confidence he’s given the players. James Forrest struggled under Ronny Deila and the crowd could get on his back – he looks like a completely new player and is firing on all cylinders.
He’s got a great man-management style and makes every player feel special. It’s hard to pin-point anyone who’s having a bad season.
Who is the player to watch right now?
GM: Scott Sinclair has made a really good impression. He’s being played out wide in the three and enjoys coming inside to get a shot away.
Sometimes with guys coming from down south, who have started well in their careers then struggled a bit, you wonder how they’re going to perform. But he’s certainly making the most of his second chance.
The calibre of signings seems to have increased under Brendan Rodgers…
GM: You could say giving Ronny Deila the job was a bit of an experiment and some of his signings reflected that. He was buying guys for the future.
Brendan hasn’t made as many signings but they’re certainly of a higher calibre – guys like Kolo Toure, Scott Sinclair and Moussa Dembele. There’s still some question marks over Dorus De Vries since he replaced Craig Gordon, but the rest of the signings seemed to have settled in well.
Has there been much sight of Ryan Christie?
GM: He’s flitted in and out. I was over in Limerick when Celtic played Inter Milan and he did really well but then found himself out of the team again. Perhaps he’s unfortunate, again, in that Brendan is blessed with options in the final third.
You wonder whether he wants to be patient or whether he gets to January and wants to go out on loan and play games. You can understand players wanting to come to Celtic but you would like to see him play more often, for Scottish football. But he might feel it’s better for his development if he’s learning under Brendan.
What is the view on Caley Thistle from the central belt?
GM: Inverness have had a few big wins against Celtic over the years, but I think most people are interested to see how Richie Foran settles in. He had a bit of a tough start but he’s picked up points now.
If you speak to anyone from the central belt who has to travel up to watch Inverness, you’d think they were going to the Sahara – and these are guys that have been to Astana!
Celtic tend to find it difficult to get a result up there but they’ll be looking to make amends after Tuesday night. There’ll be no complacency.
