ACT OF FAITH
Rodgers sure Bitton won’t blow Celtic’s Euro dream
BRENDAN RODGERS insists he is not gambling with Celtic’s Champions League ambitions by fielding Nir Bitton in central defence tonight.
Scotland’s champions enter the first leg of their qualification play-off with Astana of Kazakhstan without regular centre-halves Dedryck Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko.
And Rodgers will stand by Bitton despite the stand-in Israeli midfielder surviving a strong penalty claim at the end of last Friday’s 1-0 victory over Partick Thistle at Firhill.
Resisting the urge to make a wildcard signing before last night’s UEFA deadline, the Celtic boss insisted there is no risk in pitching Bitton into defence for the make-or-break tie.
‘Not at all, no,’ said Rodgers. ‘If it was a big gamble, I wouldn’t do it.
‘I have taken risks all my life and eight, nine times out of 10 they pay off.
‘It is not a risk. You are also looking at the game. If I am playing against a team who are bombarding you with high balls and direct balls and you are away from home, then maybe you think differently.
‘But you also have to think of the level
of the game. You want to put young players in, but you don’t want to hurt them either because there are pressure games and normally little bits of experience can get you through.
‘Okay, it might not be perfect playing Nir there — but he has a good idea of what he is doing. He has the right profile, he will go and attack it, he will head it and he can play football. I don’t see it as a risk.
‘I will take risks, but they will always be calculated.
‘I would never just sit down and say: “Let’s play him in there because he is tall”. There is a certain dynamic to it and he has done it very well.’
Defending Bitton over the last-minute penalty mix-up at Firhill, Rodgers believes the positives of playing the Israeli international outweigh any negatives.
‘You miss the number of times he does go and be aggressive,’ said the Parkhead boss. ‘He is up against a striker that uses his body well and it is just a decision at the end of the game.
‘He was maybe half expecting Craig [Gordon] to get it, he doesn’t, and he takes it away. It could have been a penalty but, on lots of occasions, those moments will go for him.
‘You could have a defender in there who doesn’t get back quick enough, so there are pluses and minuses. There will always be a risk if you are putting in a midfield player who doesn’t normally play there.
‘You have to think about it and weigh it up and, for me, if he needs to play there, he can play there.
‘We’re not perfect by any means — but I think he (Bitton) has done brilliantly since he’s been in there, in terms of how we work and how we play.
‘He’s gone into a game against Rosenborg away, in a pressure game against a really good side, and he’s coped really well with Nicklas Bendtner, a player who, on his day, is a very good striker.
‘He gets a wee bit of stick for some reason when he plays in midfield or at the back, but he understands football.
‘James Forrest, Tom Rogic and Bitton are all guys who have been immense for us because they’ve filled in and done jobs out of position.
‘I have nothing but big admiration for them, but not only that, it is how they play.
‘Of course, if you are a centre- half or a midfield player playing at centre-half and you make one mistake over a couple of games, I’ll take that.’
Rodgers hopes to have Boyata back in three weeks after a check-up on the Belgian’s knee. The news on midfielder Eboue Kouassi — injured in a pre-season clash with Sunderland — is less positive.
‘Kouassi will have an operation on Thursday,’ said Rodgers.
‘Two of the players went to London to have check-ups on where they are at.
‘Boyata is good news. He comes back and he’ll be back in early September.
‘Kouassi will have an operation on his ankle. It puts him at six to nine weeks, which is a shame for the boy because he was doing so well.’
“Nir knows what he is doing. I don’t see it as a risk”