Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
STYLISH TOM COULD PLAY IN A TUXEDO
Rodgers full of praise for Rogic
CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers reckons Tom Rogic is so smooth he could face RB Leipzig in a tuxedo tonight.
And as the Hoops prepare to take on the German side in the Europa League at Parkhead, the boss believes his stylish midfielder can impress on the big stage.
Rogic is amongst a host of attacking Celtic players who have stolen the show domestically in recent weeks.
The likes of Callum Mcgregor and Ryan Christie have hogged headlines but it’s Rodgers’ awesome Aussie who is key in the Scottish champions regaining their style and swagger.
Needing a win against RB Leipzig to stay in with a realistic shot of progression to the knockout phase post-christmas, Rodgers is delighted to have his playmaker in red-hot form.
Being nursed through a knee issue, Rogic only got an hour in the group opener against Rosenborg.
Now he is ready to go again on the continent and Rodgers is fully aware of the influence his creator’s graceful talents could have on tonight’s proceedings.
He said: “Tom gives the team a different dynamic in terms of how he plays. He doesn’t move so much, which actually helps because he can find space.
“Tom has this incredible quality of standing still and knows where to stand. That’s what he does.
“He conserves his energy well so that when he doesn’t have it he can press the game. When he takes the ball he’s normally receiving it to go forward.
“He’s a big, big talent and is so cool and calm he could play in a tuxedo because he just moves so well. He’s fantastic.
“He’s very elusive and has an in-built brain for football. You just need to put him into a structure and a framework to get the ball and into areas where he can hurt teams.”
Celtic will need all their players in fine form from the first minute until the last this evening as they look to claw their back into qualification contention.
Defeat in Germany a fortnight ago leaves Rodgers and his team under big pressure to triumph.
However, although skipper Scott Brown, Leigh Griffiths and Oliver Ntcham remain sidelined, there are more options in various areas of the park from 14 days ago and players peaking at an ideal time.
Rodgers said: “It’s very much about the collective, as it has been from the first day I came in.
“Individual players are important but individual players don’t win you things. It’s the collective and the team have performed at a very high level recently. That’s very pleasing.
“It’s been really good the last couple of weeks in terms of the level of our game.”