Billy Dodds rejects BBC man’s suggestion that Celtic’s ‘special talent’ is a target for Parkhead ‘boo boys’

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Celtic have a number of players within their squad who really are brilliant footballers.

Callum McGregor was outstanding in Celtic’s win against Ross County as Brendan Rodgers took his team six points clear of Aberdeen at the top of the Scottish Premiership table this weekend.

Nicolas Kuhn has been on fire for Celtic banging in the goals and creating assists in the Champions League and domestically.

And that’s without mentioning the likes of Alistair Johnston, Paulo Bernardo and Daizen Maeda. However, having all the talent in the world doesn’t leave the Celtic players immune from struggling with poor form.

Which is exactly what the BBC Radio Scotland panel were discussing after Brendan Rodgers announced his Celtic team to face Ross County yesterday.

Billy Dodds tells Arne Engels ‘You’re going to be special, son’ at Celtic

BBC presenter Kenny McIntyre suggested that Arne Engels is a ‘target of the boo boys’ after being benched by Celtic for the visit of Ross County.

But that is not a view shared by pundit, Billy Dodds.

Dodds told BBC Radio Scotland, “There’s another five taken out with him so you can blend it in. I think that’s a big thing.

“I don’t think it’s quite the stage of the boo-boys yet, is it? It’s not that. There are people saying he’s not performing to his best.

“When he made his debut here, I thought, ‘You’re going to be special son’. I still think he will. His movement, his speed, his power, for a 21-year-old is incredible.”

Billy Dodds tells ‘the truth’ about Arne Engels’ form at Celtic

Expanding on his point, Dodds goes further as he nails exactly why Engels is struggling at Celtic right now.

“But I think it is just telling the truth,” continued Dodds, “That he’s a young lad who needs a wee bit of rest.

“He’s come to a big club. It takes a lot to take it in mentally and still have the mental capacity and strength to get through that and realize you’re at a big club and perform week in and week out.

“So this is not a bad game for him to be taken out, He’s not playing at his best. He’s struggling a wee bit, but I’m sure Arne Engels will come again because he’s a special talent and the height and presence and the pace and the power of him, as I’ve witnessed so many times will come back.

“It’s just adjusting to what’s round about you. This is a huge club. It’s a lot to take in, He is a young lad but I’m sure he’ll be back.”

Engels has already been so effective for Celtic since he made his big move from Augsburg in the summer.

With goals for Celtic against Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League and against Hearts and Dundee in the Scottish Premiership, Engels is coming along nicely at the moment.

At such a young age, it was always going to be difficult to keep up the level of performance that allowed Engels to make an instant impact at Celtic.

But as Dodds says, the young Belgian international is a quality player and he will come good under the tutelage of Celtic boss, Brendan Rodgers.