There is no stopping Celtic right now.
It has been quite the weekend for Brendan Rodgers and his players after they returned from the final international break of 2024 with a bang.
Celtic secured a 4-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday evening with a brilliant second-half performance.
But things were made better with second-placed Aberdeen losing to St Mirren to help the Bhoys open up a three-point lead at the top of the Premiership table ahead of a gruelling winter period.
Just to add to the laughter, Rangers drew at home to Dundee United and they are now 11 points behind the champions of Scotland.
Celtic’s bench strength is scary – and that was proven by Adam Idah netting a brace against Hearts – but the starting XI is even better.
Allan Preston touched upon that, as he lauded and applauded what Rodgers has at his disposal.
Celtic told Auston Trusty would replace Liam Scales in Brendan Rodgers’ XI
Liam Scales was one of Celtic’s most reliable players last season, but fast forward to the present and he is sitting on the bench.
Not because Scales has done anything wrong, but simply because of the quality summer signing Auston Trusty has brought to the table.
Preston shared that he predicted and expected Trusty to replace Scales in the XI weeks ago and now it has happened.
The former Hearts man stated that the American has been ‘magnificent’ and lauded Rodgers as someone who takes players to higher levels, as he told the Scottish Football Podcast.
He is a proper manager, who knows how to get the best out of players and improve players,” said Preston. “I am sitting and watching, it’s great to see. As a Hearts fan, it’s not great.
“But as a football person, you say ‘look at Johnston, Taylor coming in, inverting and making an extra midfield player’. Look at the runs Kyogo makes in between the two centre-halves. Just look at Kuhn, he comes short to go long. Takes people on the inside and the outside. Maeda on the left-hand side. An unbelievable athlete who gets up and down the pitch.
“Then, at the back, I had a discussion with Pat (Bonner) earlier when we were at St Johnstone, I said to you ‘Trusty will play before Scales’. I believe he would and he has. And he has been magnificent. Scales will have a hard fight to get back in.
Trusty stats for Celtic this season
Trusty arrived with a bit of a reputation because he had come through at Arsenal and was with Sheffield United in the Premier League.
His debut in the League Cup was a bit of a struggle, but that was a case of shaking off the cobwebs and now he is proving his worth.
WhoScored have rated his performances in the Premiership alone at 7.27 and a respectable 6.56 in Europe’s elite competition.
