SCOTT BROWN is delighted to see Olivier Ntcham enjoying his football once again at Celtic, praising his fellow midfielder after his sterling showing in the win over Clyde in the Scottish Cup.
Ntcham scored the opening goal in the 3-0 win before Brown added another and substitute Vakoun Issouf Bayo rounded off the day in the final minute.
It was Ntcham’s all-round performance in awful conditions that had Brown purring though, and after seeming to be on his way out of the club in the summer, the captain is pleased to see him making such a valuable contribution.
“He’s very confident on the ball and he’s always a willing to take it in any situation,” Brown said.
“He chips in with goals as well, and his finish here was incredible from where he was.
“He’s managed to take a touch and whip it in, and it’s one of those that either goes in at the back post or someone manages to get a touch to take it in.
“That’s what he brings, but he’s also got that drive, he can play wee one-twos, and his link-up play with Odsonne (Edouard), Callum (McGregor) and Leigh Griffiths recently has been phenomenal.
“He loves it here, he’s enjoying playing, and he’s showing his quality on the park. Everyone appreciates that.
“He tracks back too, that’s what the manager wants. He played a little deeper at Clyde than he normally does with Callum being out and Ryan (Christie) being in the team, so he got a wee bit more of the ball.
“As soon as he gets it, he’s got that drive to go forward. He can go past somebody, he’s got a goal in him, and he’s got the vision to see a pass too.”
Brown says that the Celtic players were well accustomed to the tricky playing conditions due to facing similar gales at training every week.
“I think we’re used to that sort of weather up at Lennoxtown,” he said. “We’re in the middle of nowhere and we get that most weeks to be honest.
“It was good, a few of the lads got some game time who had not played a lot recently or been injured and came back. It’s good that the manager managed to chop and change his squad and a few of the lads got rested.
“The manager’s always been wanting to slowly give people game time but it’s hard to change 11 bodies here and there. There were six changes today so the manager changed half the team and the lads still performed as well as we possibly could.”
Meanwhile, Clyde manager Danny Lennon was proud of his player’s efforts in the game, even if the late third goal irked him slightly.
“We enjoyed the challenge,” he said. “Regardless of the changes Celtic made, they have got quality right through.
“They had patience, desire and showed a simplicity in the way they played the game. That’s me giving them praise. It takes a high level of concentration for someone not to switch off.
“In the second half we were braver and got out better.
“What you have to do when you get the ball back against quality is keep it better. We did that slightly better in the second half than in the first.
“For long periods in the second half our shape was good. We limited them to very few opportunities.
“The way the third goal came took a bit of the shine off it for me.”
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