Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers says that he will continue to rotate his defence throughout this campaign.
The club came up with a new defensive combination during the League Cup semi-final game against Rangers during the weekend. This led to suggestions that the manager does not favour the likes of Kolo Toure. The former Ivory Coast international was culpable of major mistakes in the recent Champions League game for Celtic. His errors have effectively left the club with little chance of even qualifying for the Europa League. Meanwhile, his teammateJozoSimunovic has been expected to leave Celtic for quite a while.
However, the 22-year-old was picked for the game against Rangers and he came in with an assured display. Rodgers, who masterminded a 3-3 draw against Manchester City a few weeks back, says that he will continue to use the various options in his squad throughout the campaign in order to alleviate any tiredness. Celtic are involved in four different competitions over the course of the season. It is highly likely that they will not have any European commitments in the second half of the season. Even then, it makes sense for Rogers to utilise his entire squad and not rely on ageing names like Toure.Simunovic held talks with Torino only for the transfer to fall through at the last moment in the summer.
“Erik has been outstanding at centre-half, he is one you can see great improvements in each day as he builds his technique and tactical ability.He has been great, Mikael Lustig and Kieran Tierney have been regulars, both of those have been outstanding.The little change has been with Kolo and Jozo. Jozo, I believe, will be a top-class talent, but has been out for a long time, so it’s about managing his games. You can’t afford when you have been out so long,” said Rodgers.