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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has been full of praise for Reo Hatate and believes his returning star can make the difference in Sunday’s clash against Rangers at Ibrox.
The Japanese playmaker made his first appearance in more than two-and-a-half months in a 3-0 away win over Livingston last weekend, impressing in his 65-minute appearance before being substituted. behind star centre-back Cameron Carter Vickers for the past two weeks, while captain Callum McGregor is doing his part to return against the Light Blues after more than a month out.
Rodgers also revealed that Honduran foreigner Luis Palma is back in education after missing the last 3 games with a muscle injury. He said: “We have Luis Palma back in education, which is great. Then, apart from Callum, he gets the ball. Tomorrow we will be in good health.
“It’s been wonderful to see Reo come back, to see how smart he is in education and to see what we’ve been missing, how he’s betting and progressing so well in the game, how he can shorten the game or how he can open up – his reach, his attacking mentality. We’ve lacked that point for much of the season.
“It’s wonderful to have him back, and what Callum brings to the team and Cameron Carter-Vickers, the balance he brings to the others. It’s just wonderful to have availability, and from there, you have to look for the right structure.
The Irish side come into the match one point ahead of their city rivals, who have a game in hand against Celtic in Dundee on Wednesday night. After winning the last two meetings against the Rangers this season, Rodgers will be hopeful that his men can deliver again.
“They’re important games and that’s what I’ve enjoyed and loved,” he added. “So, for me, it’s an opportunity for us to swoon there, like we did there last season and like we’ve done it a couple of times and we showed that we have that intellectuality and that intellectual fortitude to get through it. All the periods of play that are difficult times for us.
“We’ve got six games left, which is a lot of games. It may not seem like a lot of games, but in a football context you can substitute a lot of things in the six games, but for me. “I’m just focused on getting a positive result and then comparing it. Our mentality is to go through and do what we did last season, which is to win.
You can watch his full press conference in the video above.