When he strolled through his debut at Ibrox in March many Celtic supporters would have struck a medal for Scott Bain there and then.
The on-loan Dundee keeper hadn’t been in action since October when he fell out with Neil McCann but he showed that he had the nerve as well as the ability as Celtic emerged with a 3-2 win over Graeme Murty’s side.
Brendan Rodgers delivered a tactical masterclass- especially when Celtic were reduced to 10 men after Jozo Simunovic was red carded- with the Irishman particularly grateful to the keeper who stood in for the injured Dorus de Vries.
Bain signed a four year contract in the summer but is more than a back-up with his manager trusting him to play in Sunday’s Betfred Cup Final against Aberdeen at Hampden.
“Scott plays on Sunday,” Rodgers told The Sun. “I have no qualms about that. He is a fantastic keeper.
“The biggest test you have as a Celtic player is playing away at Ibrox, where Scott made his debut for us.
“He will be able to deal with it. Every time he has played, he has been first-class.
“Craig understands and it is something that we spoke about at the start of the season.
“He knew that if I was bringing in a No?2 goalkeeper that I’d want him to have some involvement in the cup competitions so it’s worked out well.
“He is very supportive, Craig. He is a brilliant goalkeeper but he is very mature in his outlook.
“He recognises the importance of him doing well and that he also needs a No?2 who is performing to a good level as well.
“Scott has been brilliant and has a great mentality. He has also been very loyal as the support keeper. I see him as an equal.
“Craig has got the shirt and has been brilliant for me but it is important we have another goalkeeper without having any fear of putting him in.
“Scott has a good temperament and he fits into how we play. He is calm with it and works really hard. He knows he has the trust of the management and the players.”
Other than the Betfred Cup Bain’s only other first team appearance for Celtic was in the recent 0-0 draw with Livingston in the SPFL Premier League.
