CELTIC want to keep David Turnbull beyond this season, with Brendan Rodgers stating that hesitation over the agreement of a new contract isn’t coming from the club’s side.
Rodgers revealed that talks over an extension to Turnbull’s current deal, which ends in the summer, have been ongoing, with the manager keen for the former Motherwell man to remain part of his squad.
While he also understands that Turnbull may be looking for more regular first team football than he has been getting of late at Celtic, he says the opportunity is there for the 24-year-old to cement his place as a key player in his team if he shows the ‘intensity and ambition’ required to seize the chance.
READ MORE: Brendan Rodgers on Celtic board's row with Green Brigade
“For us, David is a player we would like to keep, so it is not us here on the club side,” Rodgers said.
“He has to do what he thinks is right for himself. At this moment in time, he is still in the last year of his contract.
“For me, unless something changes, it is just a case of as long as the players are giving their all. It only becomes a problem if I don’t see the intensity that I want, the mentality that I want.
“That’s always something I am mindful of with players in the last year of their contracts. You have to be right on it or otherwise you can drift very, very easily, and think about other things. As a manager I won’t let that happen, no matter how good anyone is.
“There have been talks with his agent and the club, I believe, but I’m not sure what the latest on that is.
“[He’s] still young but I think when you get to that age, you do want to play, and be a starter. But if you want to be a starter at Celtic, it is that intensity and ambition you need to show, every game you play.
“There is no doubt he is a talented player. You see his goal [against St Mirren] - there are not many can score goals of that quality.
“I really like David. He is a good guy, has good size, he moves when he wants to move, good technique. And he scores goals. And that is why he was in the team the other night, because he is a goal threat.”
Meanwhile, Rodgers has urged other fringe players in his squad – particularly in the centre of defence, where he is now well stocked – to remain patient and continue to work hard in training to earn a chance in the starting XI.
An early season injury crisis at the heart of the Celtic backline saw Liam Scales thrown in alongside new signing Gustaf Lagerbielke for some key matches, with Nat Phillips brought in on loan from Liverpool to provide cover alongside Yuki Kobayashi.
The return to fitness of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh though now means there are seven senior players fighting it out for just two positions, which Scales and Carter-Vickers look to have locked down.
“We had the period where we had hardly any centre-backs and now everyone is back available,” he said.
“It is just a case of keeping chipping away for the players that aren’t in the squad, and for them to continue to work hard. That is all you can do. Work hard, and then see where it takes us.
READ MORE: 'We have to be better' - Rodgers highlights where Celtic must improve
“Liam Scales has done brilliant. He is worthy of playing, and has shown great consistency in stepping up when he had to play. His next period is about then playing under pressure, and I mean with players coming back. That is a different challenge.
“It is okay playing when there is no-one available but then playing when they are all back available and still at the same level is good.
“Those players in the background just have to work and be ready for when, and if, an opportunity comes.”
Whether that comes for any of them today in Dingwall remains to be seen, with Celtic facing the trip north to face Ross County just days before heading to Spain to take on Atletico Madrid.
“It’s a great little pitch, the supporters are close to you, and I’ve always enjoyed going up there,” Rodgers said.
“It’s a good place to go. I look forward to seeing Malky (Mackay) as well because he’s done a great job there and will continue to do so.
“Roy MacGregor is a man I’ve a lot of time for – with what he’s done for that region and the football club. I can’t praise him enough really.
“He’s a great man who’s given the club everything he possibly can. To bring a team from the Highland League into the Scottish Premiership is a great job.
“Between the two of them, they are doing a brilliant job.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here