BRENDAN Rodgers has always believed if a player if good enough they are old enough. With a caveat.
If that young talent isn’t prepared to go that extra few thousand vile, if they are not ready to learn and do quickly and without question and knows that being good with a ball on his feet isn’t close to being it, then the are good enough. Maybe.
The Celtic manager believes there are kids at his club who could be knocking on the door of the first-team very soon. But that’s not enough. Not to make it at that club.
“Your talent takes you to a certain level and then can you become a working talent is the question,” said Rodgers. “That is being professional, improving your lifestyle, improving your technique.
“It is not easy at a big club. It is why so many players at the big clubs fall away. At the big clubs you go into training and every day the training is faster, it is quicker, it is bigger demands but we have young players coming in who are doing very well with that.
“Mikey Johnson and young Ewan Henderson coming in. He has a great view of the game tactically. His vision of the game, he can play with good players. It is just time. He just needs time.”
Rodgers will give time to these two, and Anthony Ralston, but the goal is a lot more will follow Kieran Tierney, Callum McGregor and James Forrest.
Celtic have done a good job in recent years in producing players for their own first-team and, indeed, other clubs. There are many players in Scotland who began their professional careers at Celtic.
Asked if the supporters will see more of their own being given a chance, Rodgers said: “I hope so. That is always the vision. Out three points was to win titles, play attacking football to win and bring through many players as possible from the Academy.
“If you look at Ewan Henderson coming into the game the other night, I have been so impressed with him as a player. He is working on his intensity in the game in terms of his pressing.
“This is something you have always got to get into young players. They have to understand it is not just about looking good, you have to be aggressive. He is a huge talent but it is maturation and sometimes that may mean going out of here. But the talent is there absolutely.
As you say Mikey has broken in and then been unfortunate and there might be a few others.”
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