Brendan Rodgers has reiterated that Reo Hatate has to earn any minutes he gets in a Celtic shirt, but is seeing good signs in training he can reach the standards required.
It was a surprise to many fans last week when David Turnbull was named in the starting eleven ahead of Hatate. The Japanese talent had a stellar season last term and is considered to have significant further potential.
Turnbull produced an excellent game-winning performance, so there was no harm done. But it has left some wondering about where Hatate fits into Rodgers’ plans.
That, allied with people reading a lot into his body language over the last couple of weeks, has created lots of discussion amongst supporters.
Addressing those concerns head-on, the Celtic boss doesn’t sound worried, stating [The Daily Record]: “Look, you never expect players to be happy if they are not playing. That’s just the way Reo is too. Even before a ball was kicked I could see he has that style and way about him. But he’s a good guy, there is no question of that. There are none of them here who I’d say there is a red flag in terms of their attitude or anything like that. They are all so professional in their work and do everything correctly.
“There’s no doubt Reo is a talented player, but there’s other talented players in the squad. If players aren’t playing, I’ve been open and honest with them about where we’re at, how I prepare a team, when I tell them the team, and when they’re not playing how they’ve got to respond.
“Reo’s been really good in training. He didn’t play but he came into the game. He knows areas he needs to work on to play for me, and the structure of how I work. He’s responded really well in training and will absolutely be a player we need over the course of the season.”
While some will take the fact that Rodgers is even talking about Hatate in this context as a negative, for me, these are reassuring comments. The manager is saying that the midfielder has responded well to the message that has been sent.
It seems likely that Hatate will be back in a starting eleven before too long, perhaps even as soon as Sunday’s trip to Aberdeen.
Hatate needs to understand, like every other Celtic player, that as much application and determination has to be shown under the current manager as the old one. Nothing has changed in that regard. Players either meet that standard or they won’t be part of the regular group.
In other news, Celtic star in hot water with Brendan Rodgers; boundaries set by new boss.
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