Celtic
Brendan Rodgers discloses internal plan to boost Celtic squad fitness over international break
Celtic comfortably saw off St Johnstone at Parkhead yesterday, on a day when Brendan Rodgers’ men made a compelling case regarding their title-winning credentials.
Kyogo Furuhashi opened the scoring not long before the interval, heading home from an impressive Nicolas Kuhn centre, capitalising on a period of dominance during proceedings for the hosts.
Straight after the whistle sounded for the restart, Furuhashi returned the favour, sliding a low ball across the goalmouth that would’ve been impossible to miss. The latter subsequently claimed his first goal for the Bhoys.
Veteran winger James Forrest prolonged Celtic’s stranglehold over St Johnstone in the 68th minute, taking advantage of a sweeping pass from Matt O’Riley to rifle home a third.
Connor Smith provided a late response from the visitors; however, his mere consolation couldn’t take the shine off an imposing display from the Hoops.
Rodgers’ reigning Scottish Premiership champions recorded 74% possession and had 23 efforts on goal, ten of which were on target [BBC Sport].
Looking forward, a period of reflection during the international break will ensue before we return away to Livingston on Sunday, 31st March.
Brendan Rodgers reveals plans to maintain Celtic squad fitness
Celtic have several players who are gearing up for international duty over the coming weeks; meanwhile, there will also be a core of individuals who stay at Lennoxtown either to continue their recovery from injury or simply as a result of not being picked to represent their respective nation.
Rodgers is the man tasked with keeping his squad ticking over during the break, and he has revealed there are plans in place to ensure his group remain fit amid a spate of injuries within the camp.
Speaking post-match, the Hoops manager revealed that a behind-closed-doors bounce fixture has been organised to help maintain match-readiness levels.
He stated [Celtic FC YouTube]: “There will be a little bit of rest but there’s still work to be done, we’ll have a game behind closed doors to get one or two of our players up to speed.
Later on, Rodgers added on Cameron Carter-Vickers’ successful outing: “But really good news, seeing the likes of Cam in today and working well. All being well, all of the guys come back fit, and we can really attack this last part of the season.”
Undoubtedly, injuries have played a major part in the tale of this campaign, and any measures that can be put in place to ensure we have sufficient depth heading into the last portion of this term will be welcomed by supporters.
Hopefully, we can have as close to a clean bill of health as possible once the Scottish Premiership calendar resumes after the international break.
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