Brendan Rodgers has defended under-fire Celtic man Kolo Toure.
Brendan Rodgers has told Celtic’s official website he is very confident that Kolo Toure will draw a line under his mistakes in midweek and continue being a key player for the Hoops.
Toure joined Celtic in the summer after being released from Premier League side Liverpool.
At 35, there were doubts over his capacity to be the same kind of centre-back he has been in Britain for over a decade now.
So far, the former Arsenal and Manchester City defender has rubbished those suggestions with a number of fine performances under Rodgers in Glasgow.
But he endured a horror show in the Champions League during the week as his two mistakes led to Borussia Monchengladbach leaving Parkhead with a 2-0 victory.
It was such a high-profile contest and the errors might have taken its toll on Toure’s confidence ahead of another huge game today – Rangers at Hampden Park in a Scottish League Cup semi-final.
Toure offered a very honest assessment of himself in a post-match interview that night, but the Northern Irishman – who worked with him at Liverpool – has appeased worries over the man himself, saying he will be fine this afternoon against the Gers.
“Kolo is a wonderful player,” the Hoops boss said to Celtic’s website. “The making of the man was that after the game he came straight out and held his hand up. It shows you the mark of what he is as a player.
“This man, at 35-years-old, could have gone anywhere in the world and made a load of money and relaxed but instead he wanted to play at a top European club in the top competition.
“He’s been absolutely brilliant and is a strong guy mentally. It’s unfortunate the mistakes he made the other night but it was disappointing collectively. He’ll be fine for the next game. It’s the team, it’s very much a collective for us. The team has to do well and Kolo is a very important player for us.”
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