Ryan Bowman isn’t Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers’ favourite player.
Speaking to The Record, Motherwell forward Ryan Bowman has claimed that he’s not a “dirty player” ahead of this afternoon’s League Cup final with Celtic.
Both sides clash at Hampden today as Stephen Robinson’s side look to end a 26-year trophy drought by beating Celtic – but there’s a couple of subplots which add a bit of spice to the showpiece.
Bowman courted widespread criticism back in February for a horrific studs-up challenge on Hoops’ starlet Kieran Tierney which Brendan Rodgers claimed could have ended the youngster’s glittering career.
That wasn’t the last time that the 25-year-old made headlines for the wrong reasons.
In a League Cup semi-final with Rangers last month, Fabio Cardoso had blood pumping from his nose after being the recipient of an elbow from Bowman.
The Celtic boss was also vocal in his condemnation of that incident, claiming the Steelmen forward was “endangering the lives and careers” of his fellow professionals.
But speaking to The Record, Bowman insists he simply isn’t a nasty player.
“I don’t want to comment on individuals but a lot of people have labelled me a dirty player. If you look at my stats, I’ve never been sent off for that before.
“I’ve also only been booked once since the semi-final. So I’m not a dirty player. If you watch worldwide football, you see strikers go up and use their arms for leverage.
“I’ve been a bit unlucky with what has gone on.”
You would hope that Robinson has given Bowman a talking-to over his previous indiscretions, for his sake and the sake of Celtic players.
Beyond his physicality, he is an important player for Motherwell and one who will have a spotlight on him from the first minute to the last.
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