Brendan Rodgers highlighted two Celtic players for praise in the Hoops’ 0-0 draw against Dundee United this afternoon.

With much of the Celtic team well below par against Jim Goodwin’s men, two players stood out to Rodgers, and unsurprisingly, it wasn’t the attacking players.

He said: (Sky Sports),”Guys like Stephen Welsh coming in today, I thought, were excellent. Him and Scalesy were very good in difficult conditions with the wind and everything.”

With the back four keeping a clean sheet away to Dundee United, they showed that they could step up.

It was only the second time they had all played together, and that highlights the depth in defence that Rodgers has at his disposal.

It is a strong area of the team; however, it was clear that the attacking depth isn’t quite at the same level.

Welsh and Anthony Ralston, like they so often do, came into the starting 11 and delivered a respectable performance.

They are squad players who won’t start every week, but when they do, they come into the team and bring solidity, even without the same glamour that regular starters like Alistair Johnston bring.

Liam Scales, on the other hand, is more of a regular starter, with a strong battle between him and Auston Trusty over who starts at left centre-back.

However, the Irishman is clearly motivated, and with Trusty missing today’s game, Scales showed yet again why he was able to start week in, week out last season.

Today’s game had its positives, the solidity of a reserve back four, but the major negative was how wasteful the Hoops were in attacking areas, with Yang Hyun-jun failing to impress.