There is one Celtic star who Brendan Rodgers is happy to see buck the trend in bid to prove he has the chops

Daily Record

2 days ago

Brendan Rodgers will be pacing the living room and chewing his fingernails down to the bone over the next few weeks.
Most managers deal with international breaks through gritted teeth but the June set of fixtures have the ability to drive club gaffers up the wall.
Celtic gaffer Rodgers has eight stars off on national service when he'd much rather they were at home or lying by a pool with the feet up for a few weeks after a long, hard slog of a season.
The Hoops already have Reo Hatate and James Forrest set for a summer on the treatment table, along with Jota who is out until 2026.
Adam Idah and Liam Scales are on Ireland duty, Anthony Ralston with Scotland, Kasper Schmeichel will look to bounce back from Hampden heartache with Denmark, with Yang Hyun-jun and Viljami Sinisalo with Korea and Finland respectively and exile Luis Palma reporting for Honduras.
Rodgers will keep keeping fingers crossed for his main men, but there is one player the Irishman might be glad to see in action this summer. Paulo Bernardo.
The midfielder will finish off his time with the Portugal youth set up at the Under 21 Euros in Slovakia, which kick off next week.
And the games against France, Poland and Georgia – with the prospect of more in the knockout stages – could be just what the playmaker needs to recapture some form.
Bernardo has already made 28 appearances at under 21 and he could set a new national record if he plays the three group games.
And these clashes could be just what the 23-year-old needs after a season that failed to catch fire.
The former Benfica youngster turned his initial loan move into a permanent deal last summer for £3.5m and it looked a no brainer at the time.
Bernardo hadn't always been a regular in his first campaign but he'd shown more than enough to suggest he was worth snapping up for the long term.
There were goals against Rangers and a huge impact in the Scottish Cup Final.
When Arne Engels checked in for £11m weeks later, it didn't seem like he'd be battling it out with the Belgian for a berth.
It was Hatate who was the one whose future looked uncertain, with talk of several clubs in England and beyond keeping tabs.
Twelve months on and the Hatate exit chat remains.
But whether Bernardo is up to being the ready made replacement is more up for debate.
There's no doubting his ability. Yet progress stalled over the last term.
Bernardo picked up an injury in the Scottish Cup against Raith Rovers in February and while he was back within six weeks, he struggled to find top form and momentum.
He had a big opportunity at Hampden against Aberdeen but failed to make an impression, with the direct running of season one replaced by sideways passing and drifting in and out of the game.
The hook came in extra time but it could have been much earlier. Instead of scrapping with Hatate and Engels for a start, he's not got a job keeping Luke McCowan at bay.
Bernardo can point to the injury after new year but even before then he wasn't getting much of a look in, apart from off the bench.
More than half of his 44 appearances in all competitions in 2024/25 came as a sub, with just a couple of goals and three assists. Celtic need more.
The drop off hasn't gone unnoticed, and former Celt and now permanent Partick boss Mark Wilson said: 'I have been quite consistent with Bernardo. When it was up for debate whether Celtic should sign him. I was probably one of the ones I didn't think it was worth the risk and the money. Not the risk, just the money.
'I didn't think he had done enough in big games. I get he went through that wee purple patch. He scored against Rangers.
'But you need to be more than that if you are playing in that Celtic midfield. You need to be more than just three good games on the bounce, and then just go non-existent for big games like the Cup Final.'
Bernardo has enough in the locker to be an important Celtic figure but he needs to hit the ground running at the start of next season.
And the foundations can be laid while he's on national duty in Slovakia.