Luke McCowan impact impresses Celtic insiders, Brendan Rodgers heard giving 'secrets' away - Parkhead news bulletin

McCowan has taken to life at Lennoxtown like a duck to water

Luke McCowan hasn't looked 'out of place' at Celtic training - with insiders impressed with what they've seen from the new midfielder so far.

That's according to Motherwell striker Tony Watt who says he's spoken to people who have trained with him since the move and they've had nothing but good things to say. Arne Engels was undoubtedly the Hoops' marquee midfield signing but Dundee's player of the season McCowan was picked up on deadline day in a £1m move.

A boyhood Celtic fan, he's got off the bench in their two Premiership games since and even found the back of the net against Hearts. He could be rewarded with a start in the Premier Sports Cup against Falkirk this weekend and, according to former Celtic hitman Watt - who is still pals with some of the stars at Parkhead stretching back to his three years there - his teammates are impressed.

Speaking on the SPFL's The Warm Up podcast, he said: "I've heard a lot of good things. A lot of boys from Dundee are saying he'll go there and do well. And whoever I've spoken to that's trained with him since signing says he doesn't look out of place."

He was joined on the podcast by former Hoops defender John Hughes, who reckons Brendan Rodgers gave some state secrets away at a recent press conference. The ex Falkirk, Hibs and Inverness boss watched their win over Hearts for the BBC. And he said: "I listened to his interview and he gave a few secrets away. I was thinking 'keep them to yourself.' It was about the work they did in pre-season, no excuses when you lose the ball in the final third. Get back within five seconds. You can see that, high energy, constantly.

"Remember last season when the balls were going out, they were coming straight back in. Free-kicks, get it down, play. They're constantly on the front foot. Against Hearts, they needed the second goal, but they didn't get it until Hearts went 4-4-2 and he put the flair players on.

"I was watching it thinking 'Celtic are going to score here' and they did. Even on the turnover, two or three passes, and there's a chance."

The secret to their hard work, Watt thinks, is the depth Rodgers has available - which means he can work players to the bone without having to be too concerned about injuries. He added: "I think managers get scared to work the players too hard, because when you work them hard, you get injuries. You need to accept that, but a lot of managers, especially at the lower clubs, don't have the budget to get players in to have replacements for the boys who get injured. But Celtic do it well, they've gone and signed McCowan, spent money on Idah to come in for Kyogo.

"They've got two top, top players in every position. So he can work them to their max, and if he gets a couple of muscle injuries, he can just get on with it and pick them up again."

That depth is expected to be utilised for the visit of the Bairns this weekend. Chris Sutton wrote in his Record Sport column on Saturday that he expects to see changes from the side who downed Slovan Bratislava during the week - even if they can't quite afford to take Falkirk lightly amid an incredible run of form.

The Hoops' opponents went undefeated in League One last season and have started their return to the Championship with five wins out of five, putting Hearts out the cup to get this far. Sutton wrote: "I’d expect Rodgers to rotate against Falkirk tomorrow. He can’t underestimate a side that is in great form in the Championship and who have already put Hearts out of the Premier Sports Cup.

"But you’d think this is a chance for Auston Trusty to get minutes, along with Adam Idah, Paulo Bernardo and Alex Valle. It’s already talking about strength in depth but what that means is the momentum doesn’t drop when the names on the team sheet change. Celtic’s squad will be tested in the coming weeks. They had the A team out the other night but there will be times when someone is injured or suspended and Rodgers will need to shuffle his pack.

"The players coming in need to prove they are more than capable of slotting in and doing a similar job. Celtic ripped up the usual Champions League script the other night – but they need to stick to it on the home front, even if the main characters change."

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