Brendan Rodgers picks surprise player as Celtic’s most impressive opponent

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Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers was asked to pick the standout player excluding his own team this season.

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has picked Kilmarnock forward Kris Boyd as the standout player in the Scottish Premiership this season excluding his own team, the Scotland Herald report.

The former Rangers man has been in decent form this season, scoring 15 goals in 28 league appearances including the winner as his side beat the Gers 1-0 at Ibrox in mid-March.

Rodgers has certainly been impressed by the 34-year-old’s ability to keep going considering his age, and he named him as the standout player in Scotland when asked by reporters.

“I think you have to look at Kris Boyd. The turnaround for Kris to, one, be available – when you become an older professional that can be more difficult,” Rodgers told the Scotland Herald.

“There is no doubt that through his career, [from] 20 yards in he has been brilliant. Clinical, striking, heading…he just smells a goal and it is there. So, in fairness to Kris he is done very, very well.”

Two reasons to bemuse Rangers supporters:

While Boyd has no doubt had a decent campaign for Kilmarnock, there are others who have arguably performed better including Rangers duo Josh Windass and Alfredo Morelos.

Morelos, for instance, arrived in Glasgow as an unknown quantity yet the 21-year-old has since demonstrated an ability to shine north of the border, scoring 18 goals in all competitions this term.

Boyd never relied on pace, so his ability to find the net isn’t all too surprising considering he scored over 100 goals during his first stint at Rangers which later earned him a move to Championship side Middlesbrough.

Rodgers was probably unwilling to name a Rangers player due to the obvious rivalry, but another reason why Gers supporters may be bemused is due to Boyd’s inability to rediscover such goalscoring form at Ibrox.

He moved to the Light Blues in the 2014/15 season while the club were in the Scottish Championship, but a return of just three goals in 29 league games saw him exit after just one season.

Three seasons later and he’s back at it again for Killie, prompting the question as to why he couldn’t do it during his second spell at Rangers in an undoubtedly easier league against weaker opposition.