Brendan Rodgers has been talking up his players after Celtic’s 3-1 win over Kilmarnock yesterday.
The Hoops were absolutely dominant as goals from Reo Hatate, Luis Palma and Greg Taylor helped Celtic exact revenge for the League Cup exit inflicted on them by Derek McInness’ men.
Two outstanding first-half goals put Celtic on the road to three points but it was Hatate’s goal and performance that particularly pleased his manager.
Brendan Rodgers is delighted with Reo Hatate
The Celtic manager was very impressed with Hatate’s role in the win over Kilmarnock. Speaking to the media, Rodgers revealed that he had given the Japanese midfielder some advice prior to the 3pm kick-off and it seems like it is starting to pay dividends.
Rodgers said [Sunday Mirror print edition page 41], “This was the first game that Reo Hatate has come alive for me. He has to press the game and when he is at that level, then he is intense with the ball.
“He scored a brilliant goal and he was superb. I went through things with him the other day. If he wants to get to the highest level, there needs to be more intensity in his game. I took him through clips of his game, all without the ball.
“If you press the game well you will pass it well. But he took it on board, was very open and produced a fantastic performance today. That’s the level, you can’t switch the engine on and off.
“At the highest level against the best players, you have to turn up every week. That’s the challenge for him. He’s not young, he’s 25, but at that level of intensity everything else is then natural for him.
“It’s my job as a coach to help him stay at that level. He has set the standard and I’m sure he’ll do everything he can to stay at that level.”
Hatate has signed a new five-year deal at Celtic and is set to continue to play his football at Paradise in the immediate near future.
However, as Rodgers states, if the £12m rated Celtic player continues to play to these standards, especially in the Champions League, it won’t be long before Hatate gets that big move he seems to be planning for.
Hatate’s improvement is just another indication of how good Rodgers is at developing players. Matt O’Riley, Daizen Maeda and Greg Taylor are all enjoying a terrific season under the new manager and now, it seems, Celtic fans are starting to see the best of Hatate too.
