Brown must fight for spot as Celts hit form

a couple of weeks away from a top-team return after limping out of their 4-2 victory over Hibs three weeks ago.

But it will be his form under scrutiny as much as his fitness.

Rodgers said: “The guys who have come into the team, Scott Sinclair looks back to his level, Ryan has been like signing a new player, so it’s brilliant.

“But I don’t forget what guys have given me for two-and-a-half years. Scott Brown is an amazing player, a big personality, so it’ll be great when he gets back. Olivier Ntcham is a top operator too.

“But what this shows is that the squad now, you can’t come off your game. And now what we’ve got is a bunch of players playing at a really high level.

“The guys behind that are going to have to work very hard to affect that – but we need them all. They’re setting the standard now, though, which is good.” Rodgers singled out McGregor and Christie for praise on a night when Celtic’s Scots excelled against the German side. He said: “I think you can be very proud

watching the Scottish players, playing at the very highest level. It’s not about jumping and smashing into tackles, it’s about blocking and intercepting.

“Guys like Callum, Ryan and Tom Rogic, players you’d essentially say are No.10s, they showed they can do the dirty work. They smothered the ball, gave them no time and then had the quality to play.

“You see the level Ryan has gone to. He needed a moment and that came in the Hearts semi where he grew into becoming a Celtic player.

“He played with that personality, went into the game and affected it, he was efficient. He has been a good player but lots of good players have been at big clubs and it hasn’t worked out.

“He stuck with it, went out and got experience. His ability to take on instructions is great. For him to be playing as a No.8 and play at that level just shows his quality.”