Celtic

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Celtic captain Callum McGregor has praised "fantastic" Arne Engels after the Belgium midfielder's improvement continued with a man-of-the-match performance in the 2-0 win over Dundee United.

Engels, Celtic's record signing following his £11m arrival from Augsburg in the summer, came in for criticism as he struggled to live up to his hefty price tag but the 21-year-old has impressed in recent games.

On Wednesday night he created the most chances (three), delivered the most crosses (13), attempted the most shots (five) and had the most touches in the opposition box (12) of any player on the pitch.

"Arne has been fantastic since he walked in the door. Big price tag, big expectation, and he has handled it so, so well," McGregor told Celtic TV.

"He's such a down-to-earth kid as well and just wants to work hard. You've seen that, he just keeps getting stronger and stronger.

"It's a pleasure to play with him and he's a team player, which is brilliant. Really happy for him. Top player and making brilliant strides."

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• Celtic have kept a clean sheet in 17 of their 21 games, more than any other in the Premiership this season.

• Celtic have scored in 19 of their 21 games, more often than any other team in the Premiership this season.

• Celtic have scored 12 goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half, only Dundee United (14) have scored more in the Premiership this season.

• Celtic have scored 12 goals via substitutes in the Premiership this season, more than any other team.

Celtic extended their Scottish Premiership lead to 16 points but were pushed all the way by Dundee United despite initially looking likely to cruise to victory.

Daizen Maeda set the hosts on their way midway through the first half before substitute Reo Hatate's late second secured the points.

But a lack of direct threat on goal made the win hard work as United grew in confidence and looked capable of snatching a point.

The Tannadice side's long wait for victory at Celtic Park goes on, though, with the last coming way back in 1992 under Jim McLean.

Jim Goodwin's side remain third in the table and would surely have accepted that position at this stage of their league campaign.

Celtic fans, were you at Parkhead on Sunday or following along from home? Either way we want to know what you made of your team's performance.

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "We got into some really good areas then it was only 1-0 [at half-time].

"In the second half we just lost a little bit of our attacking connection. No matter how dominant you are you're going to have to defend for some spells.

"You have to deal with that and fairness to the players they did that really well. Then we get the second goal and put the game to bed.

"You try to but it's not easy. There are two teams playing in the game, you want to get into the areas. I think in the first half we could have crossed the ball a bit more.

"I can't fault the players, they're giving everything in what is a really demanding schedule. When you're the team having to take the game to the opponent, it takes a big big effort and I think the effort was there from the players. One we weathered the storm we finished the game really well.

"After 21 games it tells you why they're there. They work very very hard to limit you to opportunities. They want to be in the game until the last 20 minutes. I have to give huge credit to our players because to play how we want to play takes a lot of effort and energy and mobility.

"The game shows you all the time that you can't give very little and get a lot back, you have to give everyhting to the game."

On Nicolas Kuhn who dropped out of the starting line-up before kick-off, Rodgers adds: "He felt something in the top of his thigh, he didn't feel he could risk it so we just need to see what that looks like."

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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This was as one way as it gets, for the first half. Not so in the second period.

Right from the off Celtic took a firm grip of the ball and camped in United's half looking for any gap to exploit.

They enjoyed 84% possession in that period alone, pinning their opponents in and ultimately deserved this win.

The only frustration will be a failure to threaten Jack Walton nearly enough given their initial dominance.

The late call-off from Nicolas Kuhn may have made a difference to the scoreline or, at least, direct chances as his replacement Yang Hyun-Jun hasn't managed anywhere near the same impact.

That may be an area Brendan Rodgers will look to strengthen in this window.

In the end, it was a satisfying evening for Celtic as they successfully ticked off another win in pursuit of another title. They remain very much on course.

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A goal and an assist for Daizen Maeda in what was another impressive night for the pacy winger.

There was late drama galore in November 2022 as leaders Celtic hosted bottom club Dundee United.

The visitors looked set for a precious point when Dylan Levitt made it 2-2 in the 87th minute, but Celtic substitutes Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada struck in stoppage time to snatch victory in a six-goal thriller.

Will the sides serve up another epic contest tonight?

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One week into the new year, and the transfer window, and already it's one of the most-talked about deals of recent times.

Of course, it's the daily update of the Kieran Tierney potential return to Celtic tale, and what that could mean for current left-back, Greg Taylor.

It's a story which already appears to be scunnering manager Brendan Rodgers, who was quick to share his unhappiness about some Celtic fans chanting the name of the current Arsenal player during Sunday's win over St Mirren while Taylor was down receiving treatment.

Michael Grant, the Scottish football correspondent for The Times, found the outburst "interesting" but believes Rodgers was "protecting" his player.

"Rodgers' comments seemed to come out of nowhere," Grant said on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"It wasn't the line of questioning, it wasn't a, 'are you unhappy with the chanting?' it was very much Rodgers getting it off his chest that he was unhappy.

"I think it just seemed to really irritate him that the chant for Tierney started when Taylor was down injured - Rodgers was looking at it from a protection of his player perspective.

"Taylor has been a great servant to Celtic, a model professional. I think it was on a human level, 'this isnae fair'."

A superb servant Taylor does continue to be. He has provided the joint most assists (four) of any defender in the league this season and has played 1,217 minutes - the eighth most in the Celtic squad - despite the addition of on-loan Barcelona left-back Alex Valle.

Starting 14 of Celtic's 20 games, Taylor has made over 1000 passes, with an accuracy rate of 87%, and his attacking impact is illustrated by 39 touches in the opposition box, which is the sixth highest total of any Premiership defender.

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• Celtic are unbeaten in 20 meetings with Dundee United in all competitions (W15 D5) since a 2-1 league defeat in December 2014 under Ronny Deila.

• Dundee United are winless in their past 48 visits to Celtic in all competitions (D12 L36) since a 1-0 victory in December 1992 under Jim McLean.

• Celtic are unbeaten in their past 22 home league games against newly-promoted opponents (W18 D4) since a 1-0 defeat to Hamilton in October 2014. The Parkhead club have won their last 10 such games in a row, scoring 38 goals while conceding just four.

• Celtic have won each of their past 22 home league games played on a Wednesday, keeping 16 clean sheets in the process, since a 0-0 draw with Kilmarnock in May 2018.

• Dundee United have won their past two away league outings, as many as their previous 11 on the road in the Scottish Premiership beforehand (W2 D4 L5).

Atalanta are interested in Arne Engels according to reports in Italy - but Celtic are unlikely to part with the midfielder, who arrived in the summer for £11m. (Daily Record)

Crystal Palace and Ipswich are set to make improved bids worth £20m for Liverpool's 19-year-old Scotland winger Ben Doak, who came through Celtic's academy system. (Guardian)

Engels has praised the influence of team-mate Greg Taylor at Celtic and is confident that uncertainty over his future and speculation about Kieran Tierney's return won't impact the left-back's form. (The Herald)

Former midfielder Stephen McGinn is surprised that clubs in the English Premier League are not moving for Tierney amid Celtic's push to bring him back to his boyhood club. (Daily Record)

Read the rest of Wednesday's gossip.

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Celtic midfielder Arne Engels has been reflecting on being hit on the head by a coin thrown from the crowd in the recent derby defeat to Rangers at Ibrox.

The 21-year-old Belgian was struck just above the eye as he prepared to take a corner.

"In the beginning it was a bit sore but at the end it was okay," he said.

"But it's not nice to experience things like that. You just want to play your game and just want to enjoy the football. It was not really enjoyable that night."

The former Augsburg player, in his debut season in Scotland, had never witnessed a similar incident before.

"Sometimes you see things like beer spilling all over you but not really throwing things on top of your head," he continued.

"It's never good to happen in a football stadium. You are there to do your job. I think you guys (media) never experienced something like it, that somebody will throw coins or something on your heads during your work.

"In the end you need to go through. You always need to switch on and that's why you are a football player. You always need to think about the next situation and that's what I did.

"It was in the last 10 minutes or something and you still need to play those 10 minutes. It's on a really high level game so you still need to do it."

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Manager Brendan Rodgers says homegrown defender Stephen Welsh "helps create the culture" at Celtic, but concedes a proposed loan move to Mechelen would benefit the 24-year-old's career.

Welsh, who has played only twice this season, is expected to join the Belgian side this week on a deal until the summer.

"Stephen's a player that's pretty much been a part of the fabric of this club for so many years. He's one of the guys that helps create the culture because they've come through the system," said Rodgers.

"But there also comes a time when they need to look at their own career. So there's a possibility that he'll go out on loan, it's not confirmed yet."

Celtic have recalled Dane Murray from a loan spell at Queen's Park to pave the way for Welsh to depart given they play in the same position and the 21-year-old can help fill the club's quota of homegrown players for their Champions League squad.

"We've brought Dane back for that purpose," Rodgers said. "He's a young player that I really thought highly of, the bits I'd seen of him.

"He obviously had horrendous spell with injuries and we sent him to Queen's Park, where Callum (Davidson) and his team and the club done a brilliant job with him to ease him in.

"After a long injury period out, he virtually trained every day and got really good coaching. It was a fantastic club there."

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Brendan Rodgers has been speaking to the media before Celtic's Scottish Premiership match against Dundee United on Wednesday.

Here are the key points he made:

• Rodgers confirmed he had talks with "dedicated Celt" Greg Taylor after some supporters sang Kieran Tierney's name in the victory against St Mirren.

• The manager added Taylor, who suffered a knock to the nose and rushed down the tunnel after the St Mirren game, is "absolutely fine". Rodgers hopes a resolution can soon be found regarding his contract.

• On his post-match comments that the Tierney chant showed "a total lack of respect" to Taylor, Rodgers added: "I'm not going to beat about the bush when I am talking about the bush. I am experienced enough to say what I think and what I feel."

• On potential signings, he said: "A few little bits and pieces are going on in the background, both ins and outs, but nothing to declare as of yet."

• Rodgers added bringing Dane Murray back from his Queen's Park loan spell would make any exit for Stephen Welsh - the defender has been linked with Mechelen - "an easy transition".

• On Dundee United, the manager said Jim Goodwin's side are "doing very, very well" this season.

Tino
Fan writer

Celtic increased their lead to an incredible 13 points at the top of the Premiership at the weekend, yet all we've been talking about since are events from after the game as Brendan Rodgers held a no-holds-barred press conference.

Top of his agenda was what he deemed to be impatient fans, disrespectful chanting and what he sees as an all-round lack of trust in his side.

So was he right to call things out in the manner he did? Partly, would be my response to that.

Perhaps as fans we've become a victim of our own success and maybe that's natural given that we've lifted 13 of the last 14 league titles and look almost certain to add to that in May.

Maybe it's what an unprecedented quadruple treble does to expectation levels, or winning eight of the last 10 trophies in Scotland - not to mention holding the European record for silverware won (119) following our recent League Cup success.

So is the manager right to call for a bit of respect and a bit of trust in himself and his players on that front, especially given that he's responsible for many of those successes? Yes, absolutely.

And is he right to demand more patience from the crowd when his players have the audacity to play a backwards pass in midfield after 20 minutes and at 0-0 in Sunday's clash with St Mirren? Given what he's achieved in the last 12 months alone, again, yes.

However, what must be factored in – and what must always be considered when debating Celtic - is the huge part emotion plays when following this club. Celtic are an emotional club and we are an emotional fanbase.

And rational thinking versus emotional thinking will rarely if ever lead to a healthy debate. That's just how it works when passionate football fans are at the centre of any such discussion.

So as much as I would back the manager on his stance in the above situations, where I can't get on board is his labelling of chants for former Celtic hero Kieran Tierney as lacking "respect".

In fairness, I think his initial response when this was put to him in the press conference was to launch an all-out defence of current left-back Greg Taylor, and for that I admire him.

Had Rodgers stopped at that and then simply bounced off the Tierney question – as he's so able to do – then we may well not have been having this discussion at all.

Instead however, emotion took over (it can happen for managers as well as fans) and he went on to call out the singing for the current Arsenal full-back.

That element will almost certainly fall on deaf ears and I'll be amazed if the chanting for KT isn't ramped up further in Wednesday night's game with Dundee United.

And if fans want to sing for Tierney, for Henrik Larsson, for Billy McNeill or any of our former heroes then they have every right to do so.

Of course the difference with Tierney is he may well be a Celtic player once again by the end of this month, but that's a different story for a different day.

I'm a huge admirer of Rodgers and he's barely put a foot wrong since returning to the club.

However, I think in the heat of post-match media duties he judged this one wrongly – he may even be thinking that himself – and his comments across the coming days will be of particular interest.

A couple of days cooling off might have done everybody the world of good.

Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange, external

Celtic fans, we asked what business you'd like to see your side do in the January window.

Here's what some of you said:

Stephen: I would do everything I could to ensure Alex Valle stays. I would also try to extend his loan period. If Kieran Tierney rumours are correct, we would need cover due to his injuries; the answer isn't Greg Taylor! We need a striker (Tommy Conway?) as Adam Idah has been really disappointing. I would NOT sell Kyogo Furuhashi; he is all we have up front. Jota's return would be fantastic.

Ciaran: Re-sign Jota and buy Lennon Miller but loan him back to Motherwell for the rest of the season.

Sean: Although Celtic are flying high, we do need need positions filled. Left-back is a must but also a younger goalkeeper (no offence to Kasper Schmeichel) but he has not being properly tested except in Europe. I would take KT back in a heartbeat.

Paul: We need a right-back as there is not great cover for Alistair Johnston. Anthony Ralston is OK for the Premiership but not European games.

Steven: To have an impact on the Champions League play-offs and beyond, we require a top class striker to support our brilliant wing play. This will give the fans belief that the club want to progress to new levels.

Stephen: Happy with the squad but I'd love us to bring Tierney back, especially with Taylor's contract situation. If Taylor re-signs then I'm happy to miss out on Tierney and my only wish for January is that Viljami Sinisalo gets some game time just in case Kasper decides to call it a day. That number one position is key to next season's continued growth in Europe.

Gordy: We definitely need cover at left and right-back. If there is no contract for Taylor, then left back is priority. Ralston is a decent player but we need someone at a higher level to challenge Johnston. We could also do with a top winger and goalscorer to push Kyogo and Idah if we are to improve in Europe.

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Celtic are reluctant to weaken their squad amid interest from clubs in Spain and Italy in winger Luis Palma (Football Insider), external.

Stephen Welsh is set to exit Celtic with the defender in Belgium to seal a loan move to KV Mechelen (Daily Record), external.

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip in full.

Auston Trusty: First Celtic goal for the American centre-back in Sunday's victory over St Mirren. The defender looks at home now in green and white.

The Sportscene team analyse Nicolas Kuhn's second goal in Celtic's 3-0 win over St Mirren.

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Celtic fans, we asked for your views on Sunday's Scottish Premiership victory over St Mirren.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Liam: A comfortable but at times predictable performance by Celtic. We are not creating many chances in games and it's clear what we are going to do. I'm disappointed in Brendan Rodgers, as one groan for another back pass doesn't sum up 55,000 people turning up on a rotten day to back the team. Additionally, Greg Taylor was not getting criticised. Poor comments.

Paul: It was a brilliant riposte and response by Celtic, quickly getting back to winning ways again after losing at Ibrox. It was Nicolas Kuhn's double that ultimately made all the difference. Overall, it was a rock solid display by Celtic strolling to victory in the end, capitalising on their arch rivals' draw against Hibernian earlier in the day.

Dave: Brendan Rodgers is spot on. As a fan of over 50 years I've seen many highs and lows but young fans nowadays have only known success and have become so entitled. He is spot on, the team needs our support at 0-0, be patient and trust the team.

Clem: Ever since the Brugge game, where they showed how to set up to combat Celtic, we have struggled. So very slow at times and predictable. Still too many square and backward passes. A freshness in midfield is required to get the intensity back to how we started the season.

Hugh: Sunday blues washed away. We found our rhythm again, after a lacklustre display midweek. But we can't kid ourselves we still need a potent poacher of a goal scorer. Adam Idah and Kyogo Furuhashi have been benched so many times due to a lack of finishing - January should be spent finding a proven goalscorer.

Malcolm: First and foremost, a weird performance against Rangers, however a decent performance against St Mirren and three points but we need a squad rejuvenation: left-back, holding midfielder and striker.

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• Nicolas Kuhn has scored nine goals in the Premiership this season (two in this game), more than any other Celtic player.

• Celtic have scored in 18 of their 20 games, more often than any other team in the Premiership this season.

• Celtic have kept a clean sheet in 16 of their 20 games, more than any other in the Premiership this season.

• St Mirren have failed to score in eight of their 22 games, only Ross County (nine) have failed to score more often in the Premiership this season.