BRENDAN Rodgers last night insisted Dedryck Boyata still has a future under him at Celtic after handing the Belgian centre-half only his second start of the season.
Boyata helped the Parkhead club keep a clean sheet in their 3-0 win over Albion Rovers in a William Hill Scottish Cup fourth round tie at the Excelsior Stadium. The 26-year-old has been involved in only one other first-team game under Rodgers this season – a 1-0 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in November.
With Jozo Simunovic, Erik Sviatchenko and Kolo Toure all at Celtic, the Belgian had been widely expected to move either on loan or in a permanent deal during this transfer window.
However, Rodgers revealed he had been an admirer of the former Manchester City defender since watching him grapple with Didier Drogba in a match against Chelsea.
“Dedryck looked very promising,” said the Celtic manager. “He looked like the young player I saw at City.
I saw him play against Drogba when he was a really young player and he was fantastic.
“He was strong, quick, aggressive. He hasn’t had a chance to play because others have been in front of him, but in the last few weeks in training he has been great.
“He can still be a player for me. He has all the attributes that I love. The problem in the past has been that he’s made mistakes. You can’t make mistakes and lose concentration. But [against Rovers] he was very focused and very concentrated.”
Celtic paid £1.5m to sign Boyata two years ago. Asked if he would consider letting the defender leave this month, Rodgers said: “Not at this moment. There’s a squad of players now that are working really well.
“I want to make sure we’re strong going into this second part of the season with everyone fighting for their position in the team. That’s the position we are in.”
Hearts, meanwhile, have found themselves in a far less comfortable position – a dramatic 1-1 draw with Ladbrokes Championship side Raith Rovers yesterday meaning the two sides will meet again in a replay on Wednesday.
The Tynecastle side are currently deprived of Arnaud Djoum and Feycal Rherras due to the Africa Cup of Nations, and are bedding in a number of new players. The Premiership side will have little time to rest ahead of the replay, with a full card of Premiership fixtures to follow the week after next.
“It is not great [to have to play again on Wednesday],” said head coach Ian Cathro. “I didn’t know it was the case until about 10 minutes ago. It seems a bit crazy to be honest – to have to play back-to-back. I understand there are a lot of scheduling demands but that doesn’t make sense for a lot of reasons. But there’s nothing we can do.”
While Cathro insisted that Hearts were the superior side in Kirkcaldy, Raith manager Gary Locke felt the draw was merited.
“It was totally deserved,” said Locke. “It will be a completely different game at Tynecastle against a Hearts side with the crowd behind them. We’ve got to go with belief.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scottish Cup holders Hibernian could face an Edinburgh derby against Hearts in the fifth round.
The Tynecastle side must contest a replay against Raith Rovers after being held to a 1-1 draw yesterday but, if they come through that, Hearts will host their neighbours in the next round.
Meanwhile, Glasgow’s biggest rivals were each drawn at home by Celtic fan Sir Rod Stewart. The Ladbrokes Premiership leaders will play Inverness Caledonian Thistle, while Rangers face Morton.
St Mirren were draw against League One side East Fife.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here