Despite the points dropped at Inverness Brendan Rodgers did take something back down the A9 to Glasgow- an image of his first choice defensive partnership.
In nine days time Manchester City visit Celtic Park with no margin for error allowed anywhere on the park- especially in defence.
Celtic have failed to record a clean sheet in five SPFL outings this season but the appearance of Jozo Simunovic gave the hoops boss a glimpse of the future.
Dedryck Boyata hasn’t been near the first team since facing Inter Milan in pre-season but without an outing for the development team Simunovic went straight into competitive action with his first outing in eight months.
Rodgers has got plenty of options to play in central defence but after 22 minutes watching the Croatian the Celtic boss feels that he has a vital partnership coming together.
“He (Toure) is 35 and has come off the back of two massive games,” Rodgers explained. “It was always going to be the case with him that I need to manage his games. He hadn’t had a rest since we came in.
“Anyway, I wanted to give Simunovic some game time today, that was important for us. With the big games we’ve got, I needed to find time to give him a breather.
“Jozo is a class act. He looks like a class player – apart from the time he passed it straight to an Inverness player! He fits the profile of what I like. He defends forward, he is aggressive, wins his headers, can play football and is quick.
“I think there is a lot to come from him. I’m delighted he didn’t leave. I can see why a top Italian team would want him. He is delighted he stayed. It’s now just about getting minutes under his belt. He looks like a big talent for someone so young.”
