RODGERS IN SCOTS’ TALKS
BRENDAN RODGERS and Alex McLeish will meet again to have further discussions about Celtic players taking part in Scotland’s two-game summer tour of Peru and Mexico.
The Hoops boss and his international counterpart held talks last week in an attempt to find a compromise about how many of the champions’ squad will make the trip.
It looks increasingly likely Kieran Tierney and James Forrest, who have both played more than 50 games already this season, will be told to stay at home and rest.
Rodgers, who wants his men fresh for the Champions League qualifiers, said: “I had a good chat with Alex last Wednesday.
“I was open with my preference in terms of where it sits and where it’s at, but you understand that it’s also the careers of players. We’ll find a solution that will be balanced.
“There are some of the guys who will want the games, because they will maybe have missed chunks of the season. But there will be other boys who have played lots of games since last June who won’t need them.
“It would be beneficial for both Celtic and Scotland if they have the breather because very quickly they will be back into it again.
“Then they are going to be needed in the proper games coming into the autumn.
“It’s always the case that if you have a few of your teams doing well, then, hopefully, that can help the national team.
“What I love about the Scottish boys is that they are very patriotic. They actually love playing for Scotland and I think there is a real core of players there who can do very, very well.”
Stuart Armstrong and Leigh Griffiths, who both missed several weeks of action due to injury, will probably relish the chance to extend their season by a couple of games, but the availability of Callum McGregor could pose a problem.
The midfielder, who won his first cap this season in the friendly against Holland at Pittodrie in November last year, has also made more than the half-century of appearances, but is keen to cement a place in the national side.
Armstrong and McGregor were particularly impressive in the 1-0 victory over Hungary in Budapest last month.
The Scots are due to play Peru in Lima on May 29 and then face Mexico at the Azteca Stadium on June 2.
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