Celtic face a tricky trip up to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen tomorrow night which, if the result goes Brendan Rodgers’ way, could effectively end the Scottish Premiership title race.
Celtic are still top of the league table after the Bhoys battered Ross County on Saturday and with Jimmy Thelin’s men dropping points against Hearts, the Hoops have opened up a four-point gap with a game extra left to play.
Celtic are on fire right now as they blow away all opposition in Scotland and with the strength in depth that Rodgers has at his disposal, then the Parkhead club are going to be hard to stop this season.
This is why what Kris Boyd said about Arne Engels and Paulo Bernardo fighting for a starting spot in the Celtic team is actually a good thing for the fans.
Kris Boyd’s ‘pressure’ claim about Arne Engels at Celtic
Engels arrived at Celtic with an £11.5m price tag and immediately impressed with goals against Slovan Bratislava and Hearts.
Now struggling to recapture that form, the young Belgian was dropped to the Celtic bench in favour of Paulo Bernardo and now Boyd reckons that could pose a problem for the 21-year-old midfielder.
Boyd told Go Ballistic, “I think the interesting one for me for Celtic going forward and Brendan Rodgers is it going to be Engels or Bernardo in that midfield.
“Because Bernardo’s put the pressure on him now and I know that he’s come in for big money but his performances have been, I thought he started well, but they’ve not been at the level recently.
“And I think when you look at Bernardo when he’s came on and started at the weekend he’s now asking the question of Brendan Rodgers.
“When am I going to get a start? And I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one who stays in the team come Wednesday night.”
Why Celtic fans should be happy about Paulo Bernardo taking Arne Engels’ starting spot
Bernardo put in a goal-scoring shift as Celtic beat Ross County and, in truth, the Portugal U21 captain has never let Rodgers down.
So when Bernardo steps in place of Engels then at least the Celtic fans know that there is a quality player available and that there won’t be a drop-off in quality.
As for Engels, there was always going to be a period where his immediate form would dip. And now that that has happened at least there is no pressure on the young man’s shoulders to recapture it as Celtic’s results remain strong as Bernardo puts in strong performances.
Should Engels be worried? Absolutely not. Rodgers is not of a mind to spend £11.5m on a player without having a plan to get him where he wants him.
If anything, it’s Boys and the rest of Scottish football who should be concerned when Engels finds his form because when he does, he will tear this league apart.
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