Jack’s the lad for Scotland
Rodgers is backing new Bhoy Hendry to plug national team’s leaky defence
BRENDAN Rodgers has tipped Celtic new Bhoy Jack Hendry to fill the void at the heart of Scotland’s central defence. The 22-year-old secured a £1.5million move to Parkhead in the final minutes of the January transfer window.
Poised to go straight into the squad for today’s trip to Kilmarnock, the Celtic manager thinks Hendry has what it takes to do the next Scotland manager a huge favour.
‘In Jack Hendry, I believe we’ve signed someone who is potentially a brilliant centre-half, not only for Celtic, but for Scotland,’ said the Parkhead boss.
‘He’s 22, 6ft 3in and super-quick. He can defend well, play football and, if he can deal with the pressure, scrutiny and expectation of being a Celtic player, he can go a long way.’
Hendry bounced back from leaving the Celtic academy at the age of 16 and being freed by Wigan to resurrect his career during a six-month stay at Dundee.
Now the Dens Park club’s record sale, Rodgers believes the player will justify the fee paid by becoming a Scotland mainstay.
‘There’s no question he could fill it (the void),’ said Rodgers. ‘He just needs experience and he’s going to get big-game experience here every single week that he plays.
‘With Celtic, every meeting is a big game. Jack’s done a great job at Dundee and I give credit to Neil McCann for the way he’s got his side playing because it showcases talents like Jack.
‘By asking your team to have the courage to play football, players like Jack can exhibit their qualities.
‘The ideal characteristics for international football are speed, physicality, power, technique, the ability to read a game tactically and the right mentality.
‘Jack has all of those attributes and what we intend to do is to allow them to grow naturally.’
Willing to let Lewis Morgan return to St Mirren for the second half of the season, Celtic turned down Dundee’s request to do likewise with Hendry.
‘Yes, that was the case,’ said Rodgers. ‘But I wanted him in now because the next six months will be important for him in terms of bedding in and understanding the culture here.
‘Plus, because of the systems we play — we swing from three centre-halfs to four defenders — he can play in a couple of positions.’
The capture of Hendry and goalkeeper Scott Bain on deadline day made it five signings in the January window. Morgan and German defender Marvin Compper were first, before an 18-month loan deal for Chelsea’s Charly Musonda pleased supporters and, according to Rodgers, had an invigorating effect in the dressing room.
‘It’s been a different feel the last couple of days, the real slog of games over the course of the December period — but I think now you feel that energy,’ he explained.
‘When you bring in good players, you can feel it. In training, in the dressing room, and also in terms of the fans — it just gives everyone a real lift.
‘And then you bring in a couple more players (on deadline day), so it’s really vibrant.’
A renewed freshness was evident in the performance of Moussa Dembele in the 3-1 victory over Hearts in midweek.
Turning down an £18m move to Brighton, the striker lost his focus for a time.
Insisting there were no late moves before the deadline, Rodgers added: ‘I thought he was back to somewhere near his best the other night.
‘There’s no doubt it’s been a distraction, which is natural, but we sat down on Sunday and Monday and went through what his strengths are.
‘When he plays to those strengths, he’s very hard to cope with and I think you saw that the other night. He was outstanding, he scored a goal and created chances for others.
‘So, between now and the end of the season, it’s important the focus is there and I’m sure it will be.’
Loan striker Odsonne Edouard also pleased the Parkhead boss with his performance, coming in off the left to link up with his fellow Frenchman Dembele.
‘I think because Odsonne has come in here and he doesn’t have people behind him trying to piece together a load of propaganda about how good he is and how he’s linked to other clubs, people can then just pick up on he’s a young player,’ said Rodgers.
‘This is a boy from Paris SaintGermain, who was their top scorer through all their levels of youth football and this includes when Moussa was there and all the other players.
‘He’s gone into international football and broken all types of records. I think he scored against Scotland in an Under-17s game.
‘He’s been brought in here because I think he can go into the team and play at any time. If you look at his goals-to-games ratio since he’s been here, he probably should have had three goals the other night.
‘So he’s an exceptional talent. I’ve never had any doubt about him.
‘He’s got goals in him. His goal the other night against Hearts was absolutely brilliant, running at that speed to then lift it with that power, it was an outstanding finish. He also works exceptionally hard, which is really pleasing.’