Bren chat brought me back from Ded
DEDRYCK Boyata revealed a simple pep talk from Brendan Rodgers set him on his way to the cusp of a domestic Treble.
The 26-year-old Celtic defender struggled to make an impact when the Northern Irishman took over from Ronny Deila last summer.
The Belgium star’s only appearance before the turn of the year was in a 1-0 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in November.
However, Boyata has not looked back since being reinstated into the side for the 3-0 William Hill Scottish Cup win over Albion Rovers at the Excelsior Stadium in January.
Ahead of the final against Aberdeen at Hampden, where victory will complete a clean sweep for the Hoops, Boyata spoke about following Rodgers’ instructions on his return.
The ex-Manchester City player, who signed for Celtic in 2015, said: “You know when you don’t play that much and you get into the team you always try to have the tendency to do too much to impress people, I remember he said he didn’t want me to do that.
“He wanted me just to play simple and to play as I did in training and he said that everything would go well if I did whatever he told me.
“We know it is going to be a big achievement if we manage to win this game and we are trying to get ready to play.”
Boyata admits the prospect of playing a major part in a side on the brink of a Treble was far from his thoughts in the back end of 2016.
He said: “No, because this season started with an injury, then a second injury and I played one game in December.
“To tell myself I will play every game until the end of the season, that would be a lie.”