Rodgers hails Christie’s physical condition after cup heroics against Hearts

Brendan Rodgers has heaped the praise on cup hero Ryan Christie for the way that he has turned his Celtic career around.

As reported by the Daily Mail, the Celtic boss explains how the player’s physical condition has defined his time at the club.

It was a big step for Ryan at the weekend. When I came in, I had a boy of 64 kilos, who played as a striker against Motherwell, and I felt: “Okay, here’s a talent, but is he going to play regularly for me?”

I didn’t think he was, but he wasn’t 17 or 18. He was 20, 21, so what would benefit him when it comes to thinking medium and longer term? He would benefit from playing games and feeling the pressure week-in, week-out, because coming from Inverness to Celtic is a big jump. Some players cope straight away when they come in as a 17-year-old.

Raheem Sterling’s maturation level at that age was an example of a kid who was physically strong. There are some players who mature a bit later’

The player was signed by Celtic during Ronny Deila’s time at the club, with the Hoops paying around half a million at the time.

He has since struggled to break into the Celtic side on a regular basis and spent 18 months on loan at Aberdeen.

It had been suggested that he could complete a permanent move to Aberdeen after enjoying a fruitful loan spell there, but he returned to Celtic and he is now looking to make an impact on the biggest stage.

He won a penalty and scored a stunning goal to help Celtic on their way to a 3-0 win over Hearts over the weekend and he’ll be aiming to continue in that good form.