Rodgers delight as more younggunscomeofage

Given t hat between now and Christmas, Celtic will be engaged in a two-pronged domestic and European campaign it is not outlandish to suggest that there will be two Hoops teams in action over the course of the coming months.

Judging by the early evidence of League Cup duty and league encounters on the back of European forays, it seems likely that some of the youngsters at the club will be given the opportunity to stake their claim for first-team football.

For the second time this season Brendan Rodgers went for youth, with the veteran in his back four on Saturday afternoon 20-yearold Kieran Tierney.

As the club flew out to Kazakhstan yesterday afternoon to begin their preparations for tomorrow afternoon’s return leg against Astana, there was ample opportunity to rest a few of the regulars with no consequence to the current unblemished run.

The 2-0 win over Killie was a little staid, no real surprise given the magnitude of Wednesday night’s win against Astana. However, with Jozo Simunovic and Mikael Lustig – players who struggle on astroturf given their respective medical histories – essentially allowed to get their feet up before tomorrow’s game on Astana’s plastic pitch, there was another chance to see the likes of Kristoffer Ajer, Calvin Miller and Anthony Ralston in the senior team. All impressed.

Miller, a recent convert to the left-back position, took a leaf out of Tierney’s book with his forays up and down the flank while Ralston, a robust, imposing right-sided full-back looks like a genuine apprentice to Lustig.

THE 18-year-old was another who looked composed and the chances are that as the season progresses and Celtic look to maintain their domestic dominance while also posing questions of their own in the European circuit that the academy graduates will gain further exposure.

“I’m absolutely delighted with the integration of our young players, how they’re playing, how they’re working and how they’re fitting in to our ideas,” enthused Brendan Rodgers after the game.

“Anthony Ralston is 18 and yet you’d think he’s 28. His maturity in his performance, and how tactically aware he is, is great.

“I’m also delighted for Calvin. I saw the fruits of him last year and he’s a player who, from deeper, can push on.

“He’s quick and aggressive so he is really developing into a first-class young player.

“So it’s nice for his experience to get another start in the league and to play to that level.

“Kris Ajer showed his quali-