Reo Hatate shares the ‘obvious differences’ between Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers at Celtic

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It’s fair to say that Reo Hatate didn’t enjoy the best of times when Brendan Rodgers returned to Celtic last summer.

The Japanese midfielder found himself dropped to the Celtic bench in favour of David Turnbull for the season openers against Ross County and Aberdeen.

He then picked up a calf injury against Atletico Madrid which meant he missed the first Glasgow Derby of the season.

Having recovered from that, Hatate then played in Celtic’s next five winning fixtures before picking up a hamstring injury against Hearts in October that ruled him out for the majority of the season.

However, before his injury issues, Hatate seemed to be struggling to recapture the form that made him a star under Ange Postecoglou and here he explains how he struggled to cope with the change in style of football the Irishman was trying to get his team to adapt to.

Rodgers’ ‘first priority’ with football at Celtic

Every Celtic fan saw the immediate change in how the team approached games under the new Celtic manager.

Gone was the gung-ho all-out attacking style of Ange Postecoglou and in came the more pragmatic and slow, patient build-up of Rodgers.

And Hatate admits he struggled to cope with it.

Hatate said [Sportiva], “The biggest part of the game was that, in Ange’s time, the first thing we did was play goal-oriented football.

“We were told to go vertical, vertical, vertical as much as possible, but on the other hand, Rodgers’ coaching style is very much about the ball.

“Even in situations where you can attack quickly, the first priority is to keep the ball. I think that is the main change.

“There are also other obvious differences, like the fact that fewer goals are scored from crosses compared to the 2022-23 season.

“I think it was a difficult season, as it was the first year as Rogers’ manager. If I had to say, I think it was more a sense of keeping the good parts of the previous team and trying to adapt to what Rodgers wanted to do.

“That’s why we struggled in the beginning, but as we worked on it, I think both the manager and we came to understand what each other wanted to do.

“As a team, we have found a good response, but we also wanted to do more. Personally, I enjoyed the more aggressive and faster goal-oriented football (of the 2022-23 season), but I also discovered new things [under Rodgers], including how to take care of the ball, so it was an experience.”

Hatate’s eventual return from injury at the end of March was a massive boost for the Celtic manager. With the team struggling to find any fluidity, the Japanese midfielder’s vision and creativity gave the team a massive shot in the arm for the title run-in.

Celtic were unbeaten in their final ten fixtures of the season which included three fixtures against Rangers where he starred in the 3-3 Ibrox draw, the league decider at Celtic Park and the Scottish Cup final to seal the double.

With Hatate having designs on playing in the English Premier League, the Celtic fans will be hopeful he hangs around for at least one more season for a crack at the Champions League and to help Rodgers defend his Scottish Premiership crown.