Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will be eager to maintain his 100% record in Glasgow derbies since his return to Glasgow when Rangers come to Parkhead on Saturday.
Nothing but three points will be accepted by the Hoops faithful, and that was the case midweek against Dundee. The Hoops came away from Dens Park with a noteworthy 3-0 win.
Similar to Livingston a few days prior, it was a dominative performance, and gaffer Rodgers was pleased with who got the goals in the game. Both Paulo Bernardo and Mikey Johnston, who had failed to find the back of the net all season before the game, both got on the scoresheet.
Their contributions were positive in the mind of the Irishman because it meant there was no reliance on one player to get goals: “I’ve always been a coach that has wanted goals from every department in the team”, he said (celticfc.com). “You can’t rely on one player to be scoring 30 or 40 goals a season, because what happens if he gets injured? He’s out, so for me the importance of wide players, midfield players, centre-halves and full-backs chipping in, it all adds to where you want to get to.”
It is positive that this season, goals seem to be coming from various sources for Celtic. The scorers on Tuesday afternoon put testament to this.
At the same time, however, one can argue that these happenings are because goals aren’t coming from usual sources. There is no denying that Kyogo is a shadow of the player he was last season and that his goal record is worse off now compared to this point in 2022/23.
His ability is unquestionable, though, and it would in no way be surprising to see the little Japanese hitman come to the fore in this weekend’s Glasgow derby.
