Celtic-daft Premiership star is hitting form and Brendan Rodgers likes what he sees

Add as preferred source on Google

Brendan Rodgers didn’t just have praise for his Celtic side in the wake of Sunday’s Scottish Premiership victory but also for one of their opponents.

The Bhoys boss complimented his side’s resilience in winning the Ross County test 2-1 despite a 1-0 deficit at the interval.

County manager Don Cowie enacted a defensive game plan against the champions, and it was all going well for them until Alistair Johnston equalised in the 76th minute.

Nicolas Kuhn finished the job just a few minutes from time, exploiting rare space in the attacking half to finish expertly and net his sixth goal of the season.

Ronan Hale was the home side’s goalscorer, scoring his seventh goal in 11 matches since joining the Staggies in the summer.

Brendan Rodgers impressed with Ronan Hale’s Premiership impact

Hale is waiting on international clearance to be called up by Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill and Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is looking forward to seeing what he can do at that level.

The forward is a well-known Bhoys supporter, so Rodgers joked about that before going on to note what he thinks of his current form.

The Celtic manager said [Press & Journal]: “I was just more surprised that Ronan scored against Celtic. But he’s made a great start to his life in Scotland. He’s scored four goals now in eight league games. He’s been a really good reference for the team.

“It’s great for him. He has obviously done great back home at Cliftonville. He’s come over at a good age with good experience. And he’s shown it here, like we’ve seen with his goal against Hearts, which was a brilliant finish.

“He shows he can score goals. And games like this will help him in his career. But I’m delighted for him and Michael that he can call him up. If you’ve got a finisher at an international level like him, then hopefully he can do really well.”

Hale could be one to watch in the top flight

It’ll be very interesting to see if Hale can sustain his initial burst into the league with consistent goalscoring form over a period of months.

The 26-year-old scored 50 goals in 80 appearances for Cliftonville, which suggests he is now capable of doing the same in Scotland.

Now in the prime of his career and with senior international caps on the horizon, Hale’s profile could grow considerably in the coming season.

Then, people will be asking whether he’s due for a move to bigger clubs – which is always intriguing when they are known Celtic fans. Just ask the likes of Luke McCowan and Jonny Hayes.