Brendan Rodgers backs 'first class' Luke McCowan for Scotland call-up

Brendan Rodgers has backed Luke McCowan for international recognition and insists he has “no doubts” that the midfielder is ready to play for Scotland.

The 26-year-old has impressed at the Hoops despite being used sparingly, mostly from the bench, since joining from Dundee in the summer.

In a rare start on Saturday he scored one and assisted three others in a man of the match performance against Ross County.

And the Hoops boss is convinced he has all the right tools to make an impact in Steve Clarke’s side.

Speaking to the media on the eve of Celtic’s top-of-the-table clash with Aberdeen, Rodgers said: “What was great about the performance at the weekend is that it shows that football really is a process of bringing players in.

“If you look at Luke McCowan, who has only just come in, he has adapted his style in-order to play for us, he has a winning mentality, great technical quality, tactically he is learning all the time and you see that now with the clarity in his work and how good he was.

“He was fantastic at Dundee, but he has been able to come in here and step-by-step he has now come in and he’s been first class.

“He and all the other players that have come in have done really well, but they are not cover players and I would have no hesitation in starting the same team at Aberdeen tomorrow night.

“However we always have to plan for every game, the proximity of them, and the coming months.

“He (McCowan) is a learner, there is no doubt about that, and he has a great career ahead of him here at Celtic.

“He has the tools and has settled in really well, Like I say he is now one of us, because I see this winning mentality and the hunger he has to learn.

“I don’t think there is any question of that (international recognition), because when you look at the tools he has.

“Not every good player is cut out for international level, there are lots of good players but who are maybe just not cut out for that.

“International level, for me, is about technique, tactical idea and having a level of speed and mobility that allows you to get about the pitch.

“Luke has all that, tactically and physically in terms of running power, so that’s all there at a really high level.

“So there is absolutely no doubt that he can play for Scotland, for sure.”

Celtic travel to Aberdeen on Wednesday with a chance to increase their lead at the top of the Premiership to seven points and take another stride towards their target of four-in-a-row.

But Rodgers knows they will face a stern test against Jimmy Thelin’s side who currently sit second in the league and have a 100% winning record at home this season.

He said: “It’s always a challenge going to Pittodrie, obviously they have done very well this season, last couple of results probably haven’t been what they have wanted but still a very good start and Jimmy is doing a fantastic job there.

“They are very structured in how they play and clear in how they want to work so we expect a really tough game.

“I can only control what we want to do in the game and that will be to bring a really positive and attacking intent.

“When we played them at home, in the 2-2 draw, we got a bit slack and we got punished for that. Over the course of the two games we created a lot of opportunities to score and were defensively strong other than a couple of moments.

“But this time it’s away from home and every game away from home, especially against the top teams, is always a challenge so we expect that again but I also expect us to go and take a hold of the game and give Aberdeen problems.”