Saturday 22 October 2016 23:26, UK
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers says he will have no hesitation playing Kolo Toure against Rangers on Sunday despite his costly mistakes in the Champions League.
The Ivorian was to blame for both goals the Hoops conceded in Wednesday night's 2-0 defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach at Parkhead, but Rodgers refuses to blame the former Liverpool defender.
The Celtic manager praised the 35-year-old for turning down more lucrative offers to join his side in the summer and insists that shows a steely character which will enable him to cope with the pressure in Sunday's Betfred Cup semi-final against their Glasgow rivals.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the Hampden tie, the former Liverpool and Swansea boss said: "Kolo is a wonderful player. The mark of the man is that after the game and the couple of moments he had, he came straight out and held his hands up.
"This is a guy who at 35 years of age could have travelled anywhere in the world to play, make a load of money, eat nice food and just relax and enjoyed his life.
"Instead he wanted to play at a top European club in the best possible competition he could, so he came here to Celtic.
"And he's been absolutely brilliant since he came here.It's just unfortunate about the mistakes the other night. No one feels it more than him but we are very much together.
"Of course the spotlight goes on to Kolo but he's a strong guy mentally and will be fine the next time he is asked to play."
