Brendan Rodgers didn’t just seal yet another big three points for Celtic today, he once again showed his commitment to youth.
The Hoops boss told the Celtic View last week (Wednesday 20th February, pages 6-7) that he was willing to give youngsters opportunities in his squad. You can read our story on that here.
Yet, the Celtic manager also stated that it would only come to those who had been impressing.
Armstrong Oko-flex was the first to be given his big chance. He was named in the squad that took a massive three points at Rugby Park last Sunday, and the experience would’ve been terrific for him.
Yet, today against the Steelmen, Rodgers’ youth policy was on show once again. This time it was the turn of Ewan Henderson to get his shot. This time, Rodgers played the youngster too.
Of course, this wasn’t Henderson’s debut. The attacking midfielder has featured before in the 4-0 rout of St Mirren last month. It was then where he bagged his first assist for the club, laying off Timothy Weah with a perfectly weighted ball.
Hendo was at it again today too. He notched his second assist in two games with a sensational cross that Odsonne Edouard bulleted home with a header.
A man-of-the-match display
All-round, however, Henderson was sublime. Whilst his ball-retention can be worked on, his link-up play with the likes of Ryan Christie and James Forrest was a real positive for Rodgers.
The Celtic manager labelled him “tremendous”, whilst Kieran Tierney said he was “class”. It resulted in him picking up the man-of-the-match award from Celtic TV.
Rodgers deserves to see some productivity and reward from these youth players when he gives them a chance. Henderson seriously stepped up to the plate and offered the Celtic manager that today.
He follows in the footsteps of the likes of Jack Aitchison and Mikey Johnston to receive outings by Rodgers. The likes of Anthony Ralston and Tierney are now well-recognised first-teamers.
But it shows Rodgers isn’t kidding when he talks about his plans to give Celtic’s kids opportunities. It’s now down to them to seize the moment and get themselves noticed.
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