Brendan Rodgers lauds Celtic hero with ‘huge superpower’ who is setting a benchmark for colleagues

Celtic have understandably been drawing lots of praise in recent days for their perfect start to the 2024/25 season.

From defence to attack, Brendan Rodgers’ Bhoys have been in stellar form with five wins from their opening five competitive fixtures.

Sunday’s derby against Rangers was further proof that Celtic have opened up a chasm on every other team in the country and fans are excited to see what the team can achieve in the upcoming Champions League.

One player particularly attracting attention is Japanese star Daizen Maeda. He’s netted three goals and assisted twice in four games this term, also scoring for his country on Thursday against China.

Daizen Maeda described as ‘amazing’ by Celtic boss

His manager is leading the chorus of praise. In a new interview with Celtic TV, Rodgers highlighted what he’s enjoying so much about Maeda’s contribution at the moment.

The Bhoys boss said: “It’s his big superpower – his running, athleticism and ability to press. From a defensive perspective, it brings an incredible integrity to the team.

“He’s not on his own. Everyone has to do it. He sets a great benchmark in terms of how to press. There are not many who can do it like him.

“Off the ball, as always, his intensity, his running and his commitment to the team was amazing.

“With the ball, what’s been really nice is he’s getting into a habit of scoring goals. You can only do that by getting into the right areas. His discipline to arrive in the right areas at the right time gets him his opportunities.”

End product effort can charge up Maeda hype

Everyone knows Maeda is industrious and does so much – often unheralded – work for his teammates. As Rodgers notes though he’s been a consistent contributor in terms of end product so far this season, too.

If he can add regular goals and assists to his overall game he will be undroppable from the Celtic line-up.

He reached double figures for goals in each of his last two seasons at 10 and 11. However, he has the potential to push those numbers up towards 20 with increasing confidence and responsibility.

Celtic need to replace the totals that Matt O’Riley provided last term and Maeda can be one of a few who add more goals to their game, spreading the scoring across the team.

‘Irrelevant’ – Chris Sutton savages Rangers man as he delivers ‘Mad Rant’ verdict

Rangers boss Philippe Clement is being delusional about the comments made after the Celtic defeat, believes Chris Sutton.

He thinks that the Belgian is going down the Pedro Caixinha route and is no longer the manager he was when he took over the reins.

Gers suffered a 3-0 defeat to their arch rivals at Celtic Park and are already playing catch up in the SPFL title race.

Sutton told the Daily Record on 2 September: “I always think about Pedro Caixinha not being believable when he spoke. That was his problem and Clement is going down the same road. When he first came into Rangers, I found him measured and speaking well. I don’t know what has happened or whether it’s just the environment in Glasgow, but it sounded to me as if he was losing the plot.

“Everyone who watched the game realises there’s an enormous gulf between Celtic and Rangers in every single department. To come out afterwards and paint the picture as not being that bad is bordering on delusional. What he says, barring the need for time to implement changes, is just plain wrong and that’s a key issue. Fans hang on his every word. To try and paint that picture when those fans have just watched a horror show lacks credibility.

“Rangers were mauled. Any balanced person could see that Celtic are far superior and could have scored five or six. For him to claim they should have been 2-0 up is irrelevant. Four shots each on target? Kasper Schmeichel only had two real saves to make when the game was finished and it was already 3-0. Equal possession stats? The mad rant about average ages of squads? Boasting about beating Ross County who have been awful this season so far?”

Philippe Clement must take some of the blame for the shortcomings at Rangers

Clement’s comments appear to be eroding trust among fans and stakeholders.

By downplaying the defeat with statistics like possession and shots on target, the Belgian appears to be avoiding the core issue which is the significant performance gap between Rangers and Celtic.

This approach not only misrepresents the game’s narrative but also fails to acknowledge the team’s deficiencies, which are crucial for accountability and improvement.

Fans and analysts alike expect managers to take responsibility for such losses, using them as learning opportunities rather than deflecting with irrelevant metrics.

Clement’s refusal or inability to confront the team’s shortcomings head-on could be seen as a failure to lead effectively, especially in a high-pressure environment like Glasgow, where results and honest assessments are paramount.

Things need to change quickly on the training pitch so that they can translate on the field of play and a quick response is needed.

Hibs boss David Gray left fuming after going up against ‘completely dominating’ Celtic

David Grey, the Hibernian manager, is not having a good day after seeing his club lose to Celtic for the second straight week.

Before defeating them 3-1 at Celtic Park earlier today, Brendan Rodgers’ team defeated them 2-0 at Easter Road on Sunday.

Similar to their first meeting, the Bhoys scored early on in the Scottish League Cup match thanks to a goal from Daizen Maeda.

Despite receiving harsh criticism from his coaching staff, Grey believes his players keep making the same mistakes and bemoans the way Celtic dominated the game.

David Grey is upset after losing to Celtic in the League Cup.
After the full-time whistle, Grey told his own team’s media channel that he was “angry.” He then used The Herald to provide a more thorough warning to his players.

“I feel like I’m repeating myself here because of what happened last weekend,” the Hibs manager remarked. We had the early advantage in the game, but after Celtic made their first forward pass and an own mistake, we lost the goal. which is unacceptable, particularly in light of what we discussed before to the game.

“Coming here at any time is a tough enough test, but you can’t give that calibre of opposition a goal of a start.”

At Celtic Park, during the Premier Sports Cup match between Celtic and Hibernian, Alistair Johnston of Celtic and Rocky Bushri of Hibernian compete…

“Then, we were out of the game for the first half hour until we were able to come back into it after a set piece with a nice header and finish. But until then, Celtic was absolutely dominating, so we had to adjust the strategy a little bit to make ourselves even more difficult to beat.

“We reverted to our previous behaviour for the majority of the previous weekend’s game. I was somewhat let down by that. After we made two blunders in a row and lost a goal once more, I believed Celtic was back on top once more. We’ve reverted to the same behaviour, which is unacceptable for us at the moment.

This season, Hibs won’t be the only team that Celtic abandons in frustration.
To be fair to the Easter Road guys, it’s a difficult ask to play two positions against Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic team, particularly this late in the season.

While Grey and his players are only getting started, the Bhoys are clicking and cohesive.

Yes, they now appear to be lacking in confidence and talent, but most Scottish teams will look that way when playing the defending champions.

It is Celtic’s responsibility to make sure they feel this way after games, no matter how difficult it is for others. The group is doing a great job, and long may it continue.