As Celtic prepares to begin their defence of the Scottish Cup with a match against Highland Football League side Buckie Thistle, manager Brendan Rodgers faces decisions on team selection.
Fans are curious about whether Rodgers will field a team of youngsters or opt for a full-strength squad, especially considering the significant divisional gap between the two teams.
In the build-up to Sunday’s match, Rodgers addressed the media during Friday’s press conference, providing insights into his squad planning. One key update is that January signing Nicolas Kuhn will not be participating in the upcoming game. Kuhn, still regaining fitness following a dental operation, is expected to be ready for the subsequent match against Ross County.
Rodgers outlined his approach for the Buckie Thistle game, indicating a blend of experience and youth in his team selection. [Celtic TV]
“Nick won’t be involved at the weekend. He’d actually been along for quite a period when he had an operation on his teeth and whatever else, so he lost a bit of strength in that. But he’ll be okay for Ross County.
“Yeah, we’ll take the chance to be strong because we need to get players back into rhythm again, and I will also take the chance to have some young players involved as well. But we’ll be a strong team because we need to find our rhythm quickly now.
“We’ve worked so hard here at Lennoxtown. The players have been brilliant, and you just see the confidence and the speed of everything back to where I’d want it to be, which is great. Now we got to take that into the game and get up to speed.”
Rodgers’ approach suggests that while the match against a lower-division team could be seen as an opportunity to rest some, but not all, key players, it is also an important fixture to build momentum and cohesion within the squad.
The inclusion of young players offers them a chance to showcase their abilities and gain experience, which is crucial for their development.
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