Winger tells how brother taught him to cope with the cloggers

TIME and again Patrick Roberts crashed to the plastic turf, each burst of black rubber crumb testament to another crude challenge from Astana full-back Dmitri Shomko. That the winger was able to shrug off the rough-house treatment of a gnarled Kazakhstani internationalist, owed much to the childhood jousts in a London backyard with older brother Adam, who he admits provided a formative education in football’s darker arts.

Roberts’ fortitude was ultimately rewarded as he claimed the assist for Leigh Griffiths’ all-important equalising goal late in the first leg of the Champions League third-round qualifier and, by full-time, Shomko was offering a shrug and an apology.

‘Every player I play against is going to try to do that to me but I’ve been getting it for years,’ reflected Roberts. ‘It annoys you sometimes as my mum would tell you! My big brother did exactly the same to me as a kid. He would hack me up and kick me because he didn’t like it when I got past him.

‘It was all part of my education apparently — he claims the credit for it because he says him kicking me made me stronger.

‘He’s 22 and still plays in London as a striker, but he loves to come up and watch me play. He reckons I’m the player I am because of him!

‘Seriously, though, I do appreciate everything he did for me.’

The Celtic fans are growing increasingly appreciative of the younger Roberts, too. Having made a slow start in the wake of his loan transfer from Manchester City in January, Roberts flourished at the tail end of the season, rattling in six goals in the final two months of the campaign.

New manager Brendan Rodgers has quickly taken to the 19-year-old, too, handing him a key role on the right flank and, judging by the amount of the ball Roberts saw in midweek, the manager has been urging his team-mates to find him as often as possible, a tactic that is likely to be repeated in Wednesday’s second instalment at Parkhead.

Shomko, eventually booked by the rather lenient Italian referee Paolo Silvio Mazzeleni, will be waiting and Roberts is looking forward to showing him a few more of his tricks and feints as the Scottish champions look to take advantage of the 1-1 scoreline at half-time in the tie.

‘He apologised at the end and that’s it — it’s football, isn’t it?’ continued Roberts. ‘He was laughing about it. He knew he was giving me it a bit tough but I was giving it to him even more — just not physically!

‘I will probably see him on Wednesday and, hopefully, have the last laugh. Every time I step on the field someone is trying to hurt me, so I have to be physically fit and mentally fit to overcome that.

‘It’s just what defenders are like — most of them don’t like it when you embarrass them. I don’t think they do it cynically. I’ve trained against KT (Kieran Tierney) a few times and he gives it to me just as bad.’

Perhaps the most tantalising thought for Rodgers would have been that ultimately Roberts can play much better than he did in midweek.

While his assist for the goal was decisive, all too often he laid waste to some of his own good work by ending a fine run with a poor cross, pass or shot. Theoretically at least, Wednesday’s second leg in Glasgow ought to provide even greater opportunity to allow free rein to his talent.

Roberts was influential in the previous round where a highly embarrassing first-leg deficit against Lincoln Red Imps was overturned by three first-half goals, the former Fulham kid notching the best of them.

Roberts shunned the opportunity to play in the Under-19 European Championship for England this summer, in favour of playing in the qualifiers and his decision to prioritise his club football has been rewarded thus far.

Rodgers may have cranked the pressure on his shoulders a little by comparing the youngster to City playmaker David Silva, but Roberts feels comfortable working under the former Liverpool boss.

‘The gaffer has come here with many ideas and given quite a lot of advice to us; bits and pieces on how to play and it’s about how we adapt to that,’ added Roberts, who moved to City from Fulham in a lucrative deal 12 months ago. ‘I’ve always known what I can do, it was just a case of getting the game time.

‘I got a feel for what it was like to play game after game last season and now we’re into the new season with a new manager I’m hoping to do the same.

‘I’ve got on well with him so far. He seems to like me as a player and he’s giving me games, so I can’t ask for any more. Now I have to repay him.

‘I wasn’t aware he’d made the comparison but David Silva is an unbelievable player. I had the pleasure of training with him for six months and he is just as good off the pitch as he is on it.

‘He is what you want to be at the end of the day. That’s the aim you set for yourself and if I can get anywhere near that level it would be amazing.’

Roberts’ commitment to an unusually long 18-month loan deal indicates just how determined he is to developing his game but it is also affording him the chance to develop a genuine bond with the club acting as his temporary guardian.

‘The game against Red Imps was fantastic, a real taste of what it could be like at Celtic Park on a European night,’ he added. ‘That drives us on to get to the group stage and get as many special nights as we can.

‘We’ve got Astana back to ours now and they have to win the game.

‘But we’re at home and we have to be able to demolish teams at Parkhead — that’s one of the aims for the season.’