Maik Nawrocki has his say on early months at Celtic

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Celtic have entered a period of good form after stringing together a five-match winning run under Brendan Rodgers.

In all honesty, it is hard to fathom the Hoops failed to win three matches on the bounce until late December. However, things look to be on the up at Parkhead heading into the Scottish Premiership return.

Defensively, Rodgers’ men have conceded just once in their quintet of victories courtesy of a James Tavernier set-piece consolation in the Glasgow Derby.

Notably, Maik Nawrocki made his first appearance for Celtic since late August during the affair, replacing Stephen Welsh after just 35 minutes [Transfermarkt].

Despite his lack of match sharpness, the Pole turned in a solid display against Philippe Clement’s men and hasn’t looked back since, featuring in wins over St Mirren and Buckie Thistle.

Signed for £4.3 million in the summer, it has taken a while for the Bremen-born defender to get fully up to speed; nevertheless, he is beginning to establish himself at Parkhead.

Celtic defender Nawrocki explains how he claimed starting berth

Nawrocki has been made to wait for his chance at Celtic due to the excellent form of Liam Scales, who has become one of the biggest ‘surprises’ of Rodgers’ managerial career, according to the Irishman himself.

Nonetheless, the 22-year-old now looks to be thriving in green and white after a period in the wilderness.

Explaining how he managed to claim a starting slot, the Hoops’ centre-back stated [Football Scotland]: “I think the only thing that wasn’t good was the injury.

“The rest was really fine with the team and the people, I felt very welcomed everywhere, so it wasn’t a problem. I’m happy that I can finally play now, I think in the beginning I played three games before Rangers, and yeah, it was a hard time to get into the team.

“The only thing I could do was work hard, be prepared in the moment, and it happened. The only thing was I didn’t play, that’s sometimes football, I work hard in training and that’s the only thing I could do.”

Maik Nawrocki looks the part at Celtic

Realistically, Nawrocki is still early into his career at Celtic and will need to continue his recent positive form over a longer sample period.

With Nat Phillips now back at Liverpool, there will be plenty of chances for the Polish defender to add to his six appearances across all competitions so far this term [Transfermarkt].

Holding his own in the Scottish Premiership, the former Legia Warsaw man has excelled in several key metrics. Sofascore note that he has made an average of 3.8 clearances, 1.8 interceptions and 1.5 successful tackles per league fixture.

Coupled with a match rating of 7.15/10, Nawrocki has shown resilience to recover from a difficult start and it will be intriguing to see if he can dislodge Cameron Carter-Vickers or Scales long-term.