Greg Taylor isn’t daft. He knows he has his doubters and his critics among the Celtic support, and his manager Brendan Rodgers knows it too. He most certainly, though, isn’t among them.

Rodgers had a chance meeting with Taylor once on a mid-season break in Dubai, and he was struck then by his professionalism. A couple of years down the line, he has been similarly impressed by the way that Taylor has taken everything that has been thrown at him, from opposition players, pundits and punters alike in his stride.

Now, he feels perhaps it is time for the left-back to get a little credit, saying he doesn’t get anywhere near the recognition he deserves for his consistency of performance, or for his ability as a footballer.

“I’ve got to say, Greg Taylor has been brilliant for me,” Rodgers said.

“Like some of the players, he probably taken some time to adapt to what we’ve been asking them to do. But now with everyone in sync, you can see how much he’s improved from a defensive perspective and the football side of his game is very good.

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“I love working with him. I see him every day, he’s a top professional who looks after himself.

“I remember seeing him in Dubai during one of the breaks a few years back, when I was at Leicester. I bumped into him in the gym, and we said hello. But I watched him, and from the minute he started working he never lost focus on what he needed to do.

“I remember coming away from that and thinking this was a young professional who is doing everything he can to look after himself and do things right. That’s what I’ve seen since coming back here.

“He’s a great guy who doesn’t get the credit he deserves. I really, really like him.”

Certain players attracting the lion’s share of criticism from football fans, whether fair or not, is hardly a new phenomenon. In Scotland though, and particularly at the Old Firm clubs, it tends to be the local lads who take the brunt of it on the chin, as James Forrest before Taylor would likely testify.

“It is a bit like that, probably like the Callum McGregor syndrome up until a couple of years ago,” Rodgers said.

“It’s just the nature of it sometimes, the Scottish boys might not get the same level of affinity as some of the others.

“When I was last here, I saw Greg as a young player at Kilmarnock. We had Kieran (Tierney) here, who was brilliant for me. But I went away and I watched him over these last few years. He’s done great. He’s been brilliant.”

There are those who would argue though that while Taylor may be up to the level required on the domestic front, for Celtic to progress in European competition, they have to aim to attract players of a higher calibre. But Rodgers again defended his man from the charge that the step up is too much for him, and said that he is developing into a real leader around the club.

“The Champions League is a challenge for a lot of players,” he said.

“I really enjoy working with him. He is a big personality, is Greg. You always need those personalities. Greg is a real voice on the pitch.

“He’s very respectful of everything and you need players with that spirit and mentality.”

All that being said, Rodgers is still hoping to add another left back to his squad during this January transfer window, both to push Taylor in a competitive sense and to lessen his load.

“My job is to bring competition to the squad in a number of areas,” he said.

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“Clearly there is a loading issue there we need to be mindful of if we don’t bring in support there. I know I’ve got Scalesy (Liam Scales) who can play there, in a worst-case scenario.

“But Greg has been great for me. Being at a big club is about competition and it’s my job to make the squad as good as it can be.”

Meanwhile, Rodgers is looking forward to welcoming Buckie Thistle to Celtic Park tomorrow in the Scottish Cup, and is showing the Highland League minnows the proper respect by preparing his team for the match in the same way he would for a Champions League tie.

“It was great to see the guys [celebrating the draw], to see the journey them guys have been on,” he said.

“It’s great for the club and great for their history. For us the story behind it is great but the focus is on getting into the next round. This is the first game of the second half of the season and we want to perform well and win well.

“We’ve had these circumstances before, if you approach it differently then of course you can be susceptible to a result, but whether it’s Buckie Thistle or Bayern Munich, we prepare the same.

“Peter Houston and his staff have done a great job in getting as much information as we could on Buckie in terms of seeing games. That goes as far back as their pre-season game against Aberdeen B team.

“We do all our work in being covered in terms of how they play, then we focus on ourselves and bringing our own game to the team.

“It’s going to be brilliant in terms of being back playing again, playing at Celtic Park and hopefully getting off to a good start for this part of the season.”