Top Line Summary

  • Clinical and professional job done
  • Celtic played Brendan Rodgers running game style
  • Rocco Vata and Daniel Kelly impress as they get valuable game time
  • Great day out for Buckie Thistle

Everything that Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers said after the 5-0 Scottish Cup win over Buckie Thistle...

It was horrendous conditions out there but was it a case of a job done?

Yes. It was a good day for everyone. It was our first game back and I thought we played some really good football at times and scored some really good goals. I introduced some young players. Our attitude and professionalism were what you would expect. for Buckie Thistle to come here, it is a day they will never forget. A good day all around for everybody.

The players were exchanging shirts but this was an opportunity for Buckie not to progress but to experience different things. From a Celtic perspective they made you work for it, didn't they?

We expect that. There is nothing free in this game no matter how good you think you are you always still have to work and be focused. That's what the players were. The first 15 to 20 minutes we were getting back into it again and we were a bit passive in our positioning. We were not aggressive enough and the two centre-halves were controlling the play. Once we started to feed the ball forward and run forward we started to open up the spaces. Maybe our timing could have been better as we got ourselves into some good areas and we were caught offside. It is what I wanted to see as we play a running game and the players were running well and passing it well. There were a couple of moments where we had to be better in the counter pressure but it was what I would have hoped for in the first game back.

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It was a special moment for Rocco Vata and Daniel Kelly, wasn't it?

For both young players, Rocco has played before and he has potential. He needs a lot of work but he has lots of attributes. He is strong, he has decent pace and he wants to score goals. It is all about discipline for young players and doing the work and having the right attitude. It was nice for him as he gets that feeling of scoring. He has been here since he was a kid and it is a great moment for him and his family. I have been really impressed with Daniel Kelly too. He is a young player, he has got good physicality and is naturally left-footed and he has good energy. His attitude is so good and it was nice for him to feel that experience. For those young guys to get a taste of it is great and it is about their mentality and wanting to keep improving.