You know there will be changes for Celtic’s home clash against Kilmarnock on Saturday, it’s just a case of which players are going to be in the firing line?
A few weeks ago, Celtic beat Hearts 3-0 in a comfortable fashion, and many things went right during the game, before that defeat at St Johnstone.
For the game in Perth, Brendan Rodgers opted to bring Auston Trusty back into the XI, despite Maik Nawrocki having two very good matches in his absence.
That call still raised eyebrows and question marks because many felt Nawrocki didn’t deserve to lose his place in Celtic’s XI.
The topic of those two individuals was discussed on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, including one bad habit in Trusty’s game.
Auston Trusty’s ability on the ball questioned after Maik Nawrocki’s axing
Trusty joined Celtic last summer for big money, but he has had a mixed time of it in Glasgow, and is now being questioned for his ability on the ball.
It’s a fundamental part of Rodgers’ play, but Gordon Dalziel feels that the USMNT international ‘doesn’t fill you with confidence’ when he tries to carry the ball forward.
Dalziel made it clear that Trusty is a ‘very, very good’ defender, but you have to question what he does on it, amid the call to harshly axe Nawrocki.
“I don’t think the lad (Maik Nawrocki) has done a lot wrong,” said Dalziel. “I think he was the only plus against Rangers at Celtic Park that day.
“But I look at Brendan Rodgers. He thinks his two best centre-halves are Carter-Vickers and Trusty.
“I tell you what, and I would agree 100%, Trusty going forward with the ball, he doesn’t fill you with the greatest of confidence. He likes to stop a lot, come back and then play the easy one, as if to say ‘somebody else go and take that responsibility’.
“He got hooked at Hampden (League Cup final) in the first half. I was watching, where we were sitting, and Brendan Rodgers was having a real go at him by saying, ‘you need to be more positive’.
“But I think Trusty, defending-wise, is a very, very good defender. But Brendan Rodgers wants more to his game now.”
Trusty’s stats for Celtic this season
The issue here is that there isn’t much difference between Trusty and Nawrocki, even though the latter has played very little this season.
You could even possibly throw the currently injured Liam Scales into that fire, who has also had a mixed campaign this term, after his breakthrough last season.
But overall, in his debut campaign for Celtic, it has been an interesting ride for Trusty.
| Games | Clean sheets | Tackles | Avg Passes | PA% |
| 35 | 15 | 1.8 in Premiership & 2.2 in UCL | 109.5 in Prem & 69.3 in UCL | 93.8% in Prem & 95.2 in UCL |
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