Celtic boss hails 'complete performance' in ruthless Ross County rout as fringe men all deemed 'starters'

Brendan Rodgers was effusive in his praise of stand-in Celtic midfielder Luke McCowan for producing a man of the match performance in Saturday’s 5-0 Premiership rout of Ross County at Parkhead.

The former Dundee ace was handed a rare start and impressed in midfield, providing three assists and a goal against the struggling Staggies as Rodgers opted to ring the changes and underline the Hoops’ impressive squad depth following their midweek Champions League match.

All five goals came during a scintillating opening 45 minutes in Glasgow’s east end with McCowan among five separate goal scorers with Liam Scales, Paulo Bernardo, Callum McGregor and Adam Idah also on target. But it was McCowan’s dazzling contribution that earned rave reviews from his manager.

“He’s really settled in well, “ Rodgers told BBC Sportsound. “He’s had to be patient, but he gets his reward for how hard he works. It tells you everything about him that he comes in and for 70-odd minutes he’s so good, his pressing, energy and quality.”

McCowan might have been the standout of the six changes made by Rodgers, but the Northern Irishman was delighted with the impact from a number of other fringe players who can all be deemed “starters” from his perspective.

“I thought it was a complete performance,” he admitted. “I said we didn’t want to wait on the game and I thought we were outstanding on that front. In the second half, we could’ve had the same, but you have to give credit to Ross County.

“For a complete 90 minutes, that was so good on the back of a tough Champions league game in midweek. All the guys who came in can be called starters. We need that competition and energy because we put so much into these games.

“The game is all about development, improvement and you see the improvement in this team, in this squad and where they’re at just now. They’re now all very set on how we want to work and the mentality it takes to play and have the robustness to win. So pleased and we’ve just got to continue with that mentality.”