PRESUMABLY, dear reader, we are all agreed that Maik Nawrocki could have been better prepared for his first Premiership start of the season 12 days ago.
A few minutes into the encounter against Wee Barry’s Ibrox visitors, the German-born former Poland Under-21 international defender had his first kick of the ball in the league since the crusade got underway on August 4 the previous year.
Without argument, a fairly preposterous situation.
In fact, Nawrocki’s lack of game time gets even more mystifying when you dig a little deeper and discover he was pitched into the confrontation after just 23 MINUTES of action in the top side in the previous seven months.
SMILES BETTER…the lesser-spotted Maik Nawrocki (top left) celebrates with his Celtic team-mates after the 1-0 Scottish Cup Final triumph over Rangers on May 25 2024.
He made his first outing in the eighth game of the season when he had five minutes in the 5-2 Premier Sports League Cup win over Falkirk and that was followed by an almost-marathon 18 minutes in the 5-0 Scottish Cup victory over Raith Rovers in early February.
Mainly, though, Nawrocki has remained in the shadows.
We are not discussing some raw kid who has come through the academy. We are talking about a player who had cost the champions £4.3million when he was signed from Legia Warsaw in the summer of 2023.
I’ve read and heard some drivel that the centre-back had been an Ange Postecoglou signing. Of course, the Greek-Australian gaffer wasn’t around to welcome his expensive acquisition after vamoosing to Spurs around the same time the shriek from the referee’s whistle signalled the completion of the 3-1 Scottish Cup Final win over Inverness Caley Thistle at Hampden on the sunny Saturday afternoon of June 3.
Sixteen days later, Brendan Rodgers was unveiled as Celtic manager for a second time.
The story goes that the Irishman inherited Nawrocki along with the likes of his fellow central defender Gustaf Lagerbielke, South Korean duo Yang Hyun-jun and Kwon Hyeon-kyu, Australian international winger Marco Tilio and Norwegian midfielder Odin Holm.
Let’s be absolutely clear about something. The recruits may well have been scouted during Ange’s second year, but every single one of those transfers was sanctioned by Rodgers. He knew exactly what was coming through the front door.
Unfortunately, Nawrocki sustained an injury in the third game of the campaign as the Hoops’ returning team chief suffered his first knock-out after seven trophy triumphs first time around.
COLLISION COURSE…Maik Nawrocki is challenged by Marley Watkins who scored the Kilmarnock goal that knocked Celtic out of the League Cup at Rugby Park on August 20 2023.
Kilmarnock won 1-0 in the League Cup in Ayrshire to inflict the first painful defeat on Rodgers after 24 successive domestic Cup victories. The new Bhoy came off the radar, but by the time he had returned, Nat Phillips, who arrived on a short-term loan from Liverpool on deadline day, was the man in possession.
After eight games, the English centre-back was jettisoned and returned to Anfield. Ironically, his fate was sealed on the horrible plastic pitch at Rugby Park in the middle of December when he scored the hosts’ equaliser with a frantic lunge at a right-wing cross to deflect the ball past the helpless Joe Hart. Killie scored a late second goal and Phillips’ brief sojourn in Glasgow was over.
A chance for a fully-fit and functioning Nawrocki, perhaps? In total, he made 13 appearances and was part of the squad that completed the league and Cup double with a 1-0 win over Rangers at Hampden on May 25.
There was talk of a loan deal for the pivot during the summer and my information is that the player would have taken the opportunity of game time elsewhere. At the age of 24, it’s obviously imperative the performer is active.
However, after Lagerbielke’s temporary move to FC Twente, there was no chance of Nawrocki being allowed to leave. My information is that neither the player nor his agent rocked the boat. No tantrums, no foot-stamping, no spitting out of the dummy.
Rodgers’ insistence that he required five central defenders was accepted. Yet the player dropped further down the pecking order when Auston Trusty was recruited at £6million on deadline day.
That gave the Celtic manager a complement of five – Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liam Scales, Stephen Welsh, Nawrocki and the new arrival from Sheffield United.
The promising Dane Murray moved to Queen’s Park on a season-long loan and everything looked in place as the new season beckoned.
THE HIGH JUMP…Maik Nawrocki faces a no-holds-barred challenge from Aberdeen’s Killian Phillips.
Rodgers elected to play Welsh against Dundee United in the goalless draw at Tannadice on December 22 with Nawrocki an unused substitute.
Eighteen days later, the former Scotland Under-21 international skipper was allowed to go to KV Mechelen on a short-term temporary transfer.
That’s just a tad puzzling. Presumably, that move did not spring from nowhere. It must have been in the works and the Belgian side had, in fact, made a move for Welsh the previous summer.
That being the case, you have to ask if this would not have been the ideal game for Nawrocki to make his first appearance to prepare him for the rigours ahead when emergencies will undoubtedly emerge?
That, of course, was the situation a couple of weekends ago when Trusty and Scales were unavailable for selection for the derby.
There is another strange quirk in this tale. Rodgers recalled Murray early from his stay at Hampden when Welsh headed through the exit.
The 21-year-old defender even got nod ahead of Nawrocki for the remaining 10 minutes of the Champions League match against Aston Villa in the Midlands in January.
Rodgers’ decision to put on the youngster for Scales ahead of the benched Nawrocki was another head scratcher. Unfortunately, Murray was culpable when the home side scored their fourth goal for a 4-2 win.
And, yet, Murray was in at the start and played the entire Scottish Cup-tie against Raith Rovers on the day Nawrocki was gifted a late cameo as he replaced Jeffrey Schlupp against the second-tier club.
Throughout all this, there have been no murmurs from the £4.3million man. Showing admirable and commendable qualities, the player has continued to train hard and hope to be given the opportunity to show what he can deliver for the team.
AIR WE GO…Maik Nawrocki thumps in a header that was saved by Jack Butland in the champions’ shock loss at Parkhead.
Of the back four that lost to the Ibrox side, Nawrocki was the one who could not be faulted. His central defensive partner Carter-Vickers will have better days at Parkhead while Alistair Johnston and Schlupp struggled on the flanks.
Nawrocki’s performance was not lost on Rodgers who stated afterwards: “I thought he did really well. I said that to him afterwards in the changing room.
“There weren’t too many highlights for us. But certainly for him, for a guy who has not played virtually for a year, it shows you how well he’s trained and how professional he’s been.
“So, I thought he did really, really well to last the game.”
Can we expect the two-footed Nawrocki to start against Hearts at Parkhead tomorrow?
As we know, anything can happen when we are discussing this individual, but if patience and perseverance are rewarded, there is no doubt Nawrocki’s name should already be pencilled in for this match.
All will be revealed when the team list is posted just before 2pm.
ALEX GORDON
