Dougie Freedman shares what he told Oliver Burke before Celtic move

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Oliver Burke became Celtic’s first signing of the January transfer window, joining the Hoops on loan for the rest of the season.

In comments reported by the Daily Record, Dougie Freedman has explained that he told Oliver Burke to join a club that is going to give him game-time in the week before he made the switch to Celtic.

Burke became the Hoops’ first signing of the January transfer window, moving to Parkhead on loan for the rest of the season after an incredibly difficult spell at West Brom.

Burke has made just three Championship appearances for the Baggies this term, and all have come from the bench. Remarkably – considering that he has made 68 league appearances during his career – he is yet to start more than nine times in a single campaign.

And Freedman – who handed the 21-year-old his debut at Nottingham Forest – disclosed that he implored the wide-man to make a move this month that would see him get plenty of minutes in the days before he made the switch to Celtic.

“I spoke to him last week and I said to him ‘Don’t wait and see if they give you an FA Cup game and think it changes things, get out and play’,” he said, as reported by the Daily Record.

“He had choices in the Championship as well as Celtic and all I said to him was ‘make sure you play, wherever you go’.

“I said to him it wasn’t about location or where the team were in the league, it was about playing football. He needs to hurry up and get 100 games under his belt. He’s only started 27 in his whole career so far. You should be playing that from September to Christmas so it’s about him playing.”

If Brendan Rodgers can get Burke back to looking like the player that came through the ranks at the City Ground, then he should have absolutely no problem enjoying a significant amount of game-time between now and the end of the season.

Burke is hugely talented, but appears to have lost his way since leaving Forest. For all his potential, it is perhaps fairly telling that Tony Pulis, Alan Pardew and Darren Moore all struggled to justify picking him in the starting lineup at West Brom.

But given his quality and Celtic’s ability to dominate several games on the spin, it should surprise no-one if he ends the season looking like a completely different player.