BRENDAN RODGERS has issued a stern message to some impatient Celtic fans: Lay off Arne.
A section of the Hoops support have be quick to criticise the club’s record £11million buy from Augsburg on transfer deadline day.
Engels struggled to make an impact in Wednesday’s 1-1 Champions League stalemate with Club Brugge at Parkhead and was replaced by Paulo Bernardo just before the hour mark.
Rodgers insisted the 21-year-old Belgian international playmaker will prove to be well worth the fee he shelled out for him and he also cited the situations regarding Bernardo and Nicolas Kuhn who both needed time before settling in at the champions.
IT TAKES TWO…Arne Engels congratulates Nicolas Kuhn after one of the German winger’s double in the 3-1 Champions League victory over RB Leipzig.
The Irishman, preparing his players for the visit of Ross County tomorrow afternoon, said: “Arne is a fantastic young player. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have brought him here.
“He doesn’t set the price tag. He’s come here to a big club to improve his game. I’ve got absolutely no doubt he will do that.
“I know in life now it is a challenge for any of them, but I think the most recent example of that would be Paulo Bernardo. He was exactly the same, if I remember back, highlighting Paulo in his performances this time last year.
“Now, he can’t be cheered on loudly enough when he enters the pitch. That’s called development. It’s called patience.”
Rodgers, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “Development takes time. Some will hit the ground running and be fine and adapt perfectly.
“But not everyone is like that – especially a young player. So, I’ve been really pleased with Arne since he’s come in, because I know the future for him.
THAT’S MY BHOY…Brendan Rodgers congratulates Arne Engels after his first goal for Celtic in the 2-0 league win over Hearts at Parkhead in September.
“He will improve, he will develop and get better. And we’ve seen it so many times. I think it’s always the pressure when you come to play up here. I think the scrutiny is on you.
“You’re going to have your critics. Sometimes it’s deserved, sometimes it’s not. But either way, a lot of the time you don’t have the last word, but you do have your chance on the pitch to show what you can do.”
The Hoops gaffer added: “I’ve got no doubt about Arne. But like every player, whether they’re young or old, you’re not immune to it.
“But, as I said, he only really needs to worry about his team-mates and ourselves and his development and coaching. He’s such a young player with a lot of potential and that’s why we brought him here.
“He’s not the finished article.”
Engels took his Parkhead bow as a second-half substitute for Bernardo in the 3-0 rout of Phillipe Clement’s Ibrox side in September.
A fortnight later, he celebrated his first start with a penalty-kick goal in the 2-0 win over Hearts in the east end of Glasgow.
