Celtic boss explains why he hasn't given in-form player more starts

It is not easy to get starts at a club like Celtic, where the expectation is to win almost every game. It is especially tougher when you are a new arrival, and not a big-money one. Yet, there is one player who has been making an impression lately. A bigger than most would have expected when he was signed by the Hoops for a transfer fee believed to be in the region of £1 million.

Yes, we are talking about Luke McCowan. The former Dundee FC captain has made an impression whenever he has been given a chance.

As a result, supporters have been calling for him to be given more starts. Some even want McCowan to be starting over Arne Engels, who Celtic signed for a club-record £11 million transfer fee just this summer. That's how the former Dundee FC man has been.

McCowan did get to make his first start in a Celtic shirt at the weekend. He made the most of that opportunity by scoring against Motherwell.

Celtic boss explains why he has not given in-form player more starts

Brendan Rodgers has shed some light on the situation. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, the Celtic manager said in his press conference:

"No, he’s just done very well in the game. For all the players coming into the squad in the summer, it’s just step-by-step, finding the intensity in out training, finding out the way we play because it’s a very complex way in which we want the midfield players to operate.

“But he’s settled in very, very well. There’s he and other players that have deserved starts before, but the team has been doing well and working so well, but it was great he made that contribution. I think he came in and showed that energy, he showed that quality that he has, the work rate.

“As I said, he and a few of the other guys that have just come in are settling into that way of working and the set-up and the structure of the team. Yeah, he’s done very well and he’ll be in with an opportunity tomorrow again."

If McCowan can keep on performing like this, the chances will come. He needs to make sure that he makes the most of them though. Otherwise, it will not take long for those calls for him to start to fade away, just like it happened with Paulo Bernardo after a bad performance against Borussia Dortmund, when he started over Reo Hatate.

Let's see what the future holds for McCowan at Celtic. One could argue that he has already exceeded most expectations. Now, some are even viewing him as a future captain of the club. That's amazing.

Celtic have not always looked at signing players from other Scottish clubs in recent years but perhaps McCowan shows that they should. Lennon Miller is someone that the Hoops have been linked with recently as well, with the 18-year-old Motherwell midfielder twice coming close to scoring against the Hoops at the weekend.