Echoes of the past and green shoots of trust for Brendan Rodgers and Celtic

There is something in the air around Celtic Park at the moment, for now little more than a faint aroma but it's growing.

Brendan Rodgers asked Celtic fans to trust the players after another night when questions were asked but the right answers were delivered.

Young Team: Eoghan O'Connell and Moussa Dembele

It was far from a perfect performance and there were a few players who illustrated why Brendan is still said to be pursuing four other signings – but more of them another time. This is a time to be positive.

He is right in everything he says about fans' impatience creating extra pressure and anxiety. That leads to players making mistakes and it is only natural that a manager should try to do everything to create an atmosphere that allows his team to perform at its best.

But that trust is already slowly starting to build. If Brendan doesn't realise that, he should have been around last year.

For the past two seasons, many of the same players who were on display last night screwed up almost every time they were faced with a major test.

Fans were becoming accustomed to it. But there are signs that improvement is already being made.

There is an increasing sense that the players understand what is expected of them  – both in terms of their roles and commitment – in a way that had been missing.

That lends confidence to the fans and, if understandably nervous, most seem to be getting back that sense of belief in the team.

It will take time – and consistent professional performances – to fully restore that trust but the green shoots of hope are there.

Kieran Tierney, Eoghan O'Connell and Patrick Roberts continue to impress but honourable mention must also go to Saidy Janko who showed some of the ability that caused Manchester United fans to have such high hopes for him before he was thrust into a transitional defence at Celtic.

There are areas for improvement in his game, such as his decision making, but, crucially, he looked like a player who could develop with the sort of quality coaching most of us believe we now have at the club.

And I can't be the only one to have waited for Moussa Dembele to take that penalty, thinking that we were about to witness a pivotal moment in his career.

My mind went back to the story of a 20-year-old Kenny Dalglish tying his lace before scoring a penalty against Rangers for his first competitive goal.

Kenny later admitted that it wasn't because he was cool-as-a-cucumber but instead he was taking the chance to steady his nerves.

We don't know how far Dembele will progress but we do not need to doubt his nerve on the big occasion ever again.

Kolo Toure also brought a sense of assurance to all around him although, ironically, the goal was conceded a few minutes after he went on. We seem to have a new top-drawer defensive coach but, this time, he's on the pitch – and he can play a bit as well.

But, for me, the most surprising change was in Scott Brown. I have long been an admirer and

Play it Kolo: Toure calls for calm

defender of Brown, often taking pelters for my troubles.

I was even once harangued for having mentioned him in the same article as Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard although no direct comparison was ever made.

So I was amused to read Brendan comparing Scott to Gerrard in terms of leadership and commitment to the club.

Before he took a single match, Brendan replied, “150% yes”, to questions about whether the club captain would remain. When you hear the manager then praising him for tactical understanding and playing ability that even he hadn't expected him to have, you can finally put the constant critics to bed.

Last night's was a different performance from Scott, apparently free from being the sole input of drive in the team, trying to force play with sheer energy.

He seemed to have more time on the ball than on any occasion I can imagine, no doubt helped by the improved organisation Brendan Rodgers has brought to the team.

With that, came probably his best night in terms of ball distribution that I have ever seen from him – both long and short passing with both feet, including one 35-yard pass to put Leigh Griffiths through on goal.

Brendan has said Scott can be the playmaker and – pelters at the ready, now – there were even shades of Paul McStay in his readiness to take pressure off his teammates, switch play and create opportunities.

None of this need be taken as premature predictions of greatness for the team or individual players.

What we have are signs of progress and with them, early seeds of trust. It will be continued progress that will allow that trust to grow.

And then the sky's the limit. We may even start talking about hope.
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Emerging talent and the first signs of Celtic improvement under Brendan Rodgers

Well, it wasn't an emphatic performance but there are reasons to be cheerful tonight after Celtic left Astana with an invaluable draw.

The last two pieces on this blog both referred to the tie with Astana and for good reason.

“Glamour friendlies” are all very well but you only had to see the half-full Celtic Park on Saturday to play the English Champions in the International Champions Cup to get an idea of the difference between real competition and exhibition football.

Managers can say what they like about playing to win in these tournaments but the smiles all round after Leicester City won the penalty shoot-out showed that only the established UEFA-recognised tournaments count in football.

So, the complaints about Brendan Rodgers being left hamstrung were well justified – it is shocking that the club had to go into such a crucial qualifier without a recognised reliable central defender.

However, amid that sort of adversity, sometimes a genuine talent emerges who would not otherwise have been given a chance. In Astana, that was Eoghan O’Connell, rightly praised for a composed performance belying his young years and inexperience.

If we could just get a mirror image of the left side of our defence and apply it to the right, we would have lot fewer nervous Celtic fans.

The other post was on how fantastic a result a draw would be against a team that Galatasaray, Benfica and Atletico Madrid all failed to beat in Kazakhstan, last season.

So, in the circumstances, Brendan Rodgers and the players deserve all the credit coming their way for achieving that at such an early stage of the season, with such frailties in the squad.

There were mistakes and nerve-wracking times – far too many – but what was most encouraging was how Celtic managed to get a grip on the match in the last 20 minutes, when previous sides would have crumbled.

In fact, it was as if the team matured before our eyes, using the ball intelligently after Patrick Roberts and Leigh Griffiths had combined to produce a goal of exceptional quality.

We've had to many European disappointments to count in recent years, so there was never a sense of the job being done until the referee's final gift to Astana of five minutes added time had expired.

But, under immense pressure, there was a self-assuredness on the ball in the late stages that surely reflected the first meaningful improvement under Brendan Rodgers and his team.

There is still a major amount of work to do against an Astana side that showed once again that the generously funded Kazakh football has arrived and will make an impact soon.

We can look forward to that day – but hopefully not for another year yet.

• No Kolo Toure but Celtic and Brendan Rodgers have a point to make in Astana

• Celtic PLC leave Brendan Rodgers hamstrung ahead of Champions League tie

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