Mark Wilson: Celtic need defensive reinforcements
Celtic beat Aberdeen 3-1 to make it back-to-back wins in the Scottish Premiership; defender Cameron Carter-Vickers and midfielder Reo Hatate were forced off injured; Brendan Rodgers expects to sign a defender "in the next week"
Monday 14 August 2023 10:48, UK
Former Celtic defender Mark Wilson believes strengthening at the back is key for Brendan Rodgers amid injury concerns to key players.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, who missed the end of last season after knee surgery, was forced off during Sunday's 3-1 win at Aberdeen with a hamstring injury.
Fellow defender Carl Starfelt left the club last week to join Celta Vigo on a four-year deal.
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While Brendan Rodgers is hopeful Carter-Vickers will not be out for long, Wilson is urging the club to bring in replacements.
"He's the standout defender at the club, a real leader," he told Sky Sports News.
"I think we all saw last season when he was taken out of the side what that did to the back four, so a bit of a concern in that respect.
"I don't think he showed up too great at the Aberdeen goal but I don't know if that was something he was maybe carrying and that's why the change had to be made.
"Stephen Welsh came in and he looked solid alongside (Maik) Nawrocki. They worked fine, but I don't know if that's going to take to get to the next level."
The manager told Sky Sports after Sunday's game at Pittodrie that he hoped to add a new signing in the coming week with reports linking Elfsborg defender Gustaf Lagerbielke with a move to Glasgow.
Midfielder Reo Hatate was forced off injured after replacing David Turnbull, but they wrapped up an important victory with Liel Abada, Kyogo Furuhashi and Matt O'Riley scoring against Barry Robson's side.
Wilson, who spent five seasons at Parkhead, believes Rodgers will be satisfied with Celtic's start to their latest title defence.
"When you have to go away to Pittodrie in the second game of the season it's always going to present a challenge, never mind when you're a new manager coming in," he added.
"I thought Celtic got through the tie fine. They're not at their sparkling best, I think we all know that.
"We're seeing slight differences in the way they're playing this season compared to last season, but at the top end of the pitch they are still so sharp.
"It's going to take time for the ideas to settle into the player's minds what Brendan Rogers wants, but I think what he's done is he's taken a lot of the good work that Ange Postecoglou put in place here.
"The tempo, the inverted fullbacks, overloading the midfield and I think he's put his own spin on things like any top managers do.
"The main difference is you're seeing Kyogo coming into a deeper role, coming inside when O'Riley is going beyond the striker or Maeda is going in behind.
"That really suits Kyogo's game so I think when it comes to the bigger games in the Champions League that's going to be a real plus point from a Celtic point of view."
Rodgers praises top-class attitude of players
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers spoke to Sky Sports after their 3-1 win over Aberdeen:
"It was a very good win for us. Barry has his team very well set up and it's difficult to play against man-to-man and their direct style. I was disappointed with the goal we conceded from a static goal-kick but it's a tough place to come so I'm pleased. The boys stood up to it and it's a really good win for us.
"There's no doubt about the attitude of the players, it's top class. It's always a good sign when you can start well and finish strong. The subs settled the game well for us and made a really good contribution.
"There's lots to work on but there's a beauty to the squad in that they want to learn and get better. Each day, they'll get better and better."
On replacing defender Carl Starfelt, the Celtic manager added:
"Very close, I think in the next week we'll get that done."
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