Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BRENDAN FULL OF PRAISE FOR HIS BHOY ANT
BW Linz 0 Celtic 1
BRENDAN RODGERS last night hailed his son Anton for helping get the Hoops out of a hole. The midfielder played the second half as Celtic kicked-off their Austrian camp with a 1-0 win against BW Linz. But Rodgers confirmed he won’t be offering his lad a deal at Parkhead and he only got a run out after injuries forced Kris Ajer and Eboue Kouassi to sit out the clash. Former Brighton youngster Anton is a free agent after leaving Swindon Town and he’s training with Celts to get fit as he looks to secure a move in England. Boss Brendan (below) said: “Anton has come with us to train and get in good condition for when the English seasons starts. “But we had a few injuries to Eboue and Christoper Ajer as well as one or two others. “Anton is a capable player, he’s not just here as my son. “He’s here because he can cope and is technically very gifted. He has a good view of the game and can pass the ball. “And to play for us you obviously need to be able to do that. Given we were short of numbers he was able to go in and play. I thought without really knowing the other players he did well.” Rodgers junior didn’t look out of place as Celtic got their pre-season fixtures up and running with a comfortable win in Rohrbach in the Austrian hills. James Forrest grabbed a late winner but Rodgers was clear though there wouldn’t be a Parkhead deal on the table for his kid. He said: “It’s never been the case of that. We have got a lot of midfield players and it’s maybe different types we need. “But it’s never been the notion to sign him, it’s just to give him a couple of weeks and then he can see where the next venture is. “His son lives down in Reading so the ideal scenario is that he finds a club close to where he lives. But this has been a real good exercise for him.” Rodgers was satisfied with his side’s return to action as he played different teams in each half. He said: “I remember our first game when we went away last year and we drew 2-2. We still have a way to go in terms of our sharpness but that’ll come as the preseason goes on.”