Neil Lennon bigs up Celtic youngster Scott Robertson's Dubai showing

By David Walton

January 15, 2020

Neil Lennon has bigged up Celtic’s Scott Robertson after the midfielder seriously impressed him in Dubai.

Robertson burst onto the scene at Parkhead last month. Lennon gave him his senior debut against CFR Cluj, and he came out with plenty of plaudits too. Even though Celtic lost the game 2-0 in Romania, Robertson showed real maturity to settle into the environment and be one of our best players on the night.

The midfielder was then given a spot in Celtic’s winter training camp in Dubai over the last week. It’s fair to say he’s taken that chance too.

Celtic midfielder Scott Robertson (Paul Ursachi/MB Media/Getty Images)

Speaking in this week’s Celtic View (Volume 55, Issue 25, Page 7), Lenny said the following on Robertson’s performance.

“Scott was excellent. He’s a very good young professional and a good roaming footballer. We had him out in Austria for pre-season, but even then, I don’t think he’s ever trained as intensely as he did over in Dubai.

“With that intensity, that heat, it was a new experience for him but he coped very, very well. I’m delighted with his efforts.”

Robertson follows on from Dubai with big Chelsea moment

Things have gotten better for Robertson too after the trip. Today, he managed to bag a winner against Chelsea under-23s. The match was in London too, with Robertson once again showing he can adapt to a big-stage environment.

Celtic’s Scott Robertson (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Of course, first-team football is a lot more difficult than games against under-23 opposition. However, it’s been a magical last couple of months for the young midfielder.

In terms of his chances between now and the end of the season, they do still look limited. It’s going to be extremely tough for Lenny to give youngsters a chance this year. With the title-race so close, it’s difficult to justify dropping first-team stars in any of our games.

The issue we have is that every game is important. Rangers’ form has unfortunately led to a closer title-race than we’ve been used to. Robertson will be hoping for the kind of moment that saw Karamoko Dembele make his own Celtic debut last season. But any chance he gets will likely be at the end of the season.

Celtic boss Neil Lennon (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

At the very least, Robertson is clearly thought highly of by the manager. He can’t ask for more than that. Another trip away with the senior squad in pre-season could be his next big chance to shine ahead of a fresh campaign.

Regardless, these are morale-boosting words for Robertson. He likely had a spring in his step in London today because of them. He’s certainly one to keep a close eye on.